U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Tuesday sentenced a former Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper to 21 months in prison for checking women’s cell phones for nude photographs during traffic stops.
From September 12, 2023, to July 30, 2024, David McKnight, 40, unlawfully accessed nine women’s cell phones without a warrant or probable cause to find nude images of the victims or their loved ones. He was on duty, dressed in uniform, and driving an MSHP car. He used his own cell phone to snap photos of seven victims’ phones. In all but one case, McKnight returned the victims’ phones to his truck, falsely saying that he needed to authenticate their identities, insurance coverage, or other information. In the remaining case, McKnight searched the phone of a detained woman and photo one of her images.
After two victims got suspicious of his conduct, they alerted the MSHP. Forensic research found that McKnight had scanned their phones, including files containing naked images of them. The remaining victims were discovered during a subsequent investigation. McKnight had erased the images, but they were later discovered from his phone.
McKnight’s “conduct in this case was inexcusable and demands a sentence of incarceration,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Krug stated in a sentencing letter.
In December, McKnight pleaded guilty in US District Court in Cape Girardeau to nine charges of deprivation of rights under color of law, including the right to be free from excessive search and seizure.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol and the FBI investigated the incident. Christine Krug, an assistant United States attorney, prosecuted the case.
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