Former suburban St. Louis police officer now charged with sexually assaulting 19 men

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The number of men that a former suburban St. Louis police officer is charged with sexually assaulting has grown to 19.

Grand jurors returned a 36-count superseding indictment Wednesday accusing 34-year-old Marcellis Blackwell of groping, abusing and in one case sodomizing the men while they were detained or restrained. He also is accused of falsifying records to cover it up.

His attorney, Evan Greenberg, declined to comment in an email Thursday.

Blackwell had worked for the North County Police Cooperative, which polices eight small municipalities, for just over a year when he was charged in June in St. Louis County with arresting and sexually assaulting a handcuffed man near Normandy High School.

Three months later, with more people coming forward, federal prosecutor filed 21 counts accusing him of sexually assaulting eight men after arrests.

Arguing last year that he should remain locked up as the case proceeds to trial, federal prosecutors alleged that he also covertly took photos of people in public bathrooms. The judge agreed that he should remain jailed over the objections of the defense, which stressed that he has no criminal history.

The FBI has set up a hotline for potential victims to call.