Former Phoenix police officer indicted in case involving child sexual abuse images
May 2, 2024, 4:11 PM | Updated: 4:11 pm
A Phoenix police officer was indicted Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in a case involving child sexual abuse images. (Facebook File Photo/Phoenix Police Department)
(Facebook File Photo/Phoenix Police Department)
PHOENIX – A former Phoenix police officer was indicted Tuesday in a case involving child sexual abuse images, authorities said.
A judge ordered 41-year-old Alaa Robert Bartley of Gilbert to be detained pending his trial after a federal grand jury handed down a 12-count indictment, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona announced Thursday.
Bartley allegedly tried to take sexually explicit images of a 15-year-old girl in a bathroom in 2019 and exchanged child sexual abuse material on multiple occasions from 2020 to 2023, according to prosecutors. He was arrested April 5.
RELATED STORIES
The charges in the indictment include coercing a minor as well as multiple offenses involving distributing, receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material.
How much potential time in prison is indicted Phoenix officer facing?
Each of eight counts of receiving the images carries a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, according to prosecutors. The other four counts carry a combined potential maximum sentence 80 years.
Bartley allegedly shared a sexual interest in children with an adult woman and exchanged images with her online. Prosecutors say he used a fake name but identified himself as a police officer and sent the woman photos showing his face.
The woman has been charged separately in the Eastern District of Michigan.
How long was officer with Phoenix Police Department before arrest?
The department placed Bartley on administrative leave and started the disciplinary process, which culminated in termination, after hearing the FBI was investigating him.
A Thursday statement from the Phoenix Police Department said Bartley, who joined the force in 2007, was no longer an officer.
Bartley then tendered his resignation on April 18, police said.
“These alleged actions are despicable and fundamentally opposed to the values our department and the law enforcement community,” Phoenix PD said.
The department said it is going over Bartley’s discipline and transfer history.
“We are also working with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office to review cases that have been submitted for prosecution dating back to 2012,” Phoenix PD said.
