A White Mountain Apache Tribal Police officer has been arrested and charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse and kidnapping, according to federal authorities. Karl Eugene Leslie, 42, of Whiteriver, Arizona, was taken into custody in Canyon Day on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation following a federal indictment.
The indictment, issued on December 23, 2025, charges Leslie with aggravated sexual abuse, kidnapping—including one count involving a minor—sexual abuse through fear and coercion, and deprivation of rights under color of law. Prosecutors allege that while serving as an active-duty officer from April 2007 to June 2024 with the White Mountain Apache Tribal Police Department, Leslie sexually abused three victims between December 1, 2020 and September 25, 2023. The alleged offenses include forcible rape and kidnapping of two victims (one a minor), as well as threatening and instilling fear in a third victim to engage in sexual acts. All three victims are members of the White Mountain Apache Tribe residing on the reservation.
The FBI’s Phoenix Field Office is seeking additional information from potential victims or anyone who may have relevant details about the case. The agency urges individuals to contact them at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit information online via their seeking victim page: https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/victim-services/seeking-victim-information/seeking-victim-information-in-karl-leslie-investigation.
If convicted on any charge—aggravated sexual abuse, kidnapping (including for a victim under age 18), sexual abuse through fear or coercion, or deprivation of rights under color of law—Leslie faces up to life imprisonment and fines up to $250,000 per count. The charge involving kidnapping a minor carries a mandatory minimum sentence of twenty years.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Phoenix Pinetop-Lakeside office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dimitra H. Sampson (Flagstaff) and Lindsay L. Short (Phoenix), District of Arizona, are prosecuting the case.
“An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
Further information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona can be found at http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
