By Jeff Devine, The Chronicle
*This report involves details of sexual assault. If you are a survivor of sexual assault, help is available by calling the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
MONTGOMERY—A former Montgomery police officer has been convicted in federal court of violating a woman’s constitutional rights during a shoplifting investigation and later attempting to obstruct the investigation into his conduct.
A federal jury on Sept. 18 found Markelle Jaquan Cox, 32, guilty of four counts of deprivation of rights under color of law and three counts of obstruction of justice.
According to evidence presented during the trial, Cox was working as a Montgomery Police Department officer on Oct. 20, 2023, when he responded to a shoplifting report at a department store along Eastern Boulevard.
During the investigation, Cox placed the woman in handcuffs and escorted her to his patrol vehicle. Prosecutors said that while she was handcuffed, Cox engaged in unlawful sexual contact, including forcibly touching intimate areas of her body, with some of the contact occurring beneath her clothing.
The evidence also showed that Cox later removed the handcuffs and forced the woman to touch him.
The woman did not speak English, and Cox used a translation application on his phone while soliciting sex from her, according to the evidence presented in court. He then instructed her to unlock her cellphone and added his telephone number before allowing her to leave.
The woman subsequently called 911 and went to Montgomery Police Department headquarters to report what had happened.
An investigation was opened by MPD, and Cox was interviewed about the allegations.
Investigators said he denied wrongdoing.
Evidence presented at trial included body-camera footage that prosecutors said supported the woman’s account. Investigators also examined the phones involved in the case and found evidence showing that Cox’s phone number had been added to the woman’s phone and that a translation application had been used during the encounter.
The jury ultimately determined that Cox had used his authority as a police officer to facilitate the abuse and that he later provided false information to investigators in an effort to interfere with the federal investigation.
Cox faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been announced. His sentence will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the federal sentencing guidelines and other factors required by law.
The investigation was conducted by the Montgomery Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric Counts, Christine Levi, and Faith Mote of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama prosecuted the case.
*Editor’s note: in addition to the National Sexual Assault Hotline, there are many other resources available, including the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. If you are ever a victim of assault or any crime at the hands of a law enforcement officer, report the incident directly to the FBI at 1-800-225-5324
