FLORISSANT, Mo. — A woman, identified by the pseudonym Jane Doe, recounted her traumatic experience for the first time to 5 On Your Side after her nude photos were stolen by a former Florissant police officer during a traffic stop in February.
Two weeks ago, she and her husband filed a lawsuit against the unnamed police officer accused of making copies of "intimate photographs" from her phone.
The woman is coming forward just one day after a second lawsuit was made public, claiming the same officer took nude photos from a teenager, identified under the pseudonym Mary Doe.
"We pled that (Jane Doe) has required medical care and psychological care as a result of this. She's a young mother of two, a wife and an employee, and this has put some weight on her and made it hard for her," Lawyer Rick Voytas said.
Jane Doe said she felt violated, embarrassed and anxious.
"I've been having a lot of anxiety attacks, so it's just been hard to fully process everything with it happening in a short time," the woman said.
In a matter of five months, everything changed. It started in February when Jane was pulled over by the Florissant police officer on Howdershell Road.
"He asked me for my ID and insurance, and at the time, my insurance was on my phone through my app," the woman said. "I didn't have a paper insurance card. He asked me to hang up the phone with my mom, which I did. I get terrible anxiety when I get pulled over because nobody likes to get pulled over. He told me he needed to take my phone back to his vehicle to run my insurance. He had my phone for 10 minutes when I noticed my Bluetooth disconnected from my vehicle. At the time, I thought it was the distance between the cars. Then he returned my phone and ID and told me to have my significant other fix my back taillight. That's why I got pulled over; my back tail light was out."
Jane was alone, so she thought mentioning a significant other was odd but didn't put too much thought into it.
"It was a red flag, but at the time, I was just like, 'Okay, I didn't get a ticket,' and I went about my day," the woman said. "I called my mom right after I got pulled over, and she said, 'It was just so weird that he made you hang up the phone.' And that he took my phone back to the vehicle, which was very weird. Then I told my husband about it, and he said, 'Yeah, that's odd.'"
It wasn't until July when the FBI contacted the young woman.
"I had no idea that he went through my messages until the FBI came and told me. They knocked on my door when I was at work, and I had a full-on panic attack because I was like, 'Why is the FBI looking for me?' That's when they showed me my pictures, my nudes, blown up on big pieces of paper, and said that the officer took them from me during my traffic violation."
Jane said at that point, she felt violated and overwhelmed.
"It's embarrassing, and it's sickening," she said. "My husband feels the same way. Just the thought of an officer seeing or someone that's not supposed to see your body, that sees your body. It's not a good feeling. It makes you feel disgusting."
As a young mom, she said her first initial thought was the safety of her two young children.
"Just the thought of my pictures could be anywhere, and when my kids get older, they could see them. That's the scary part," she said. "Meeting with the FBI, I got concerned. Like, who knew? Did I have to worry about the officer coming after me? And then the embarrassment of having two FBI agents have my pictures blown up on a big piece of paper. I cried afterward because the pictures weren't for him to see us. They were for my husband."
Jane said she was told the officer scrolled through years of messages, viewing naked photos of both her and her husband and potentially sharing them with others.
"It's an invasion of my privacy," she said. "I don't necessarily know where my pictures are. I don't know who has my pictures. I've had to get medication because of all of the trauma that it's brought me."
Jane said she had a feeling meeting with the FBI that there were other victims. That drove her to file this lawsuit and be a voice for other victims. Since filing the lawsuit, she said, "There's been so many victims that have come forward, which I'm very glad. It's sad to see that this happened to them as well, but I'm glad to see that they're seeking justice."
Jane said she and the other victim, 18-year-old Mary Doe, have been communicating and sharing their trauma from this.
Mary filed a lawsuit against the same officer, accusing him of copying her nude photos taken when she was between 15 and 18 years old.
"It's sick," Jane said. "I have a daughter, so I couldn't even imagine being my daughter and having that happen. I don't even know how to put it into words. It's just horrible."
Jane said she wants the Florissant Police Department and the former officer to be held accountable.
"I feel like the city of Florissant has done nothing to apologize to me," she said. "I live 10 minutes away from the police station, so they could have come and apologized for the actions, but nothing has been done at all. Justice is coming for him, and I hope that he can sit down and think about all of the damage he's caused to me and these other victims as well and how he has humiliated us. I hope he gets what he deserves."
The mother of two, who turns 24 years old on Friday, believes she was targeted because she's a young female and said there could be more victims.
If you or someone you know think they might be a victim of this former officer, contact the FBI St. Louis Division by calling 314-589-2500.