WASHINGTON – Leon Pullen, 32, of Foley, Mo., a former police officer
employed by the Uplands Park Police Department in suburban St. Louis,
was sentenced to 25 years in prison on civil rights violations stemming
from several
incidents where he sexually assaulted and stole money from women, the Justice Department announced.
According to court documents, Pullen was a police officer employed by the Uplands Park Police Department.
On July 15, 2009, Officer Pullen responded to an advertisement placed on the internet.
The woman posted her picture and contact information as a
prostitute. Pullen contacted her via cell phone, identified himself as
“Jimmy,” and, without identifying himself as a police officer, arranged
to meet her at a specific location in Uplands Park.
He agreed to pay $400 for sexual acts, and also asked her to bring a friend.
When the woman arrived, a police vehicle pulled behind her
car. Pullen, who was on duty and dressed in full uniform, including a
badge and sidearm, approached her, showed her the ad she had posted on
the Internet, and demanded to know how much money she had with her.
Pullen made her follow him to the police station where he sexually assaulted her.
In February or March of 2009, Pullen answered another ad from a
different woman and arranged to meet her at a hotel room that she had
rented in St. Louis. When he arrived, he was wearing a blue jacket over a
gray golf shirt that had a police badge embroidered onto the front with
the words “Detective Pullen.”
Once inside, he identified himself as a police officer and told her that she was under arrest.
He displayed his firearm and handcuffs.
After he sexually assaulted her, he took $100 in cash and her laptop computer.
The victim told the FBI later that she was initially afraid to
report the sexual assault when it happened because Pullen identified
himself as a police officer.
Pullen sexually assaulted two more women using the same tactics in May and June 2009.
Following his arrest on Sept. 20, 2009, Pullen gave a voluntary statement to the FBI.
First, he told the agents that he had never taken money from
the victims, and denied to the FBI that he had ever engaged in sexual
activity – consensual or otherwise – while on duty.
“Communities must be able to trust their law enforcement officers to protect public safety.
When officers abuse their power and violate the rights of
individuals in their communities, they will be prosecuted to the fullest
extent of the law,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General
for the Civil Rights Division.
Pullen pleaded guilty in July 2010 to one felony count of conspiracy to
violate deprivation of rights under color of law, four felony counts of
deprivation of rights under color of law, one felony count of conspiracy
to commit interference with commerce by threats or violence, one felony
count of interference with commerce by threats or violence, one felony
count of tampering with a witness, and one felony count of making false
statements. He appeared today for sentencing before U.S. District Judge
Rodney W. Sippel.
This case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S.
Attorney Howard Marcus and Former Civil Rights Division trial attorney
Eric Gibson.
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