2 St. Louis police officers accused of raping several women

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Two St. Louis police officers have been charged with sexually assaulting four women, while a third office has been charged with witness tampering in the case.

Officer Lafeal Lawshea, 38, is charged with two counts of forcible rape and counts of forcible sodomy, sexual misconduct and tampering with a victim, while Officer Torey Phelps, 38, is charged with one count of forcible rape, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Investigators have accused Lawshea of raping two women in 2009 at his home. One of the women told investigators that Lawshea had drugged her and raped her while she was unconscious, while the other woman said Lawshea gave her two strong drinks and raped her as she begged him to stop.

Lawshea is also accused of sexually assaulting a civilian police department employee in 2019 after she declined his sexual advances.

Investigators say Phelps raped a woman at Lawshea’s home in 2010 while Lawshea was present.

Bond was denied for Lawshea and Phelps on Wednesday. Jim Towey, an attorney listed as representing both men, did not immediately return a phone message left Thursday seeking comment.

The witness tampering charge against Sgt. Jatonya Clayborn-Muldrew accuses her of trying to dissuade one of the women from filing a sexual assault complaint against Lawshea. Clayborn-Muldrew’s attorney, Peter Bruntrager, alleges the tampering charge amounts to political retaliation because his client led an investigation into misconduct by the prosecutors’ office last year.