A White Mountain Apache Tribal Police officer was arrested Wednesday in connection with multiple sexual abuse and kidnapping charges.
Karl Eugene Leslie is charged in a 15-count indictment with aggravated sexual abuse, kidnapping (including one count of kidnapping a victim under 18), sexual abuse through fear, sexual abuse through coercion, and deprivation of rights under color of law.
Leslie was an active officer with the White Mountain Apache Tribal Police Department on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation from April 2007 to June 2024, according to the FBI. ABC15 is working to confirm Leslie's employment status at the time of his arrest.
According to the indictment, he sexually abused three victims between December 1, 2020, and September 25, 2023, while he was acting as an on-duty police officer. Federal prosecutors tell ABC15 that Leslie made his initial court appearance on Wednesday afternoon in Flagstaff.
The indictment alleges that Leslie raped and kidnapped two of the victims, one of whom was a minor, and that Leslie twice engaged in sexual acts with a third victim by threatening her and placing her in fear.
Officials say each victim is a member of the White Mountain Apache Tribe on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation.
Phoenix's FBI office believes there could be additional victims. Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI at 1-800-225-5324 or submit information via their seeking victim page.
