A White Mountain Apache Tribal Police officer has been arrested and charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse and kidnapping, according to a federal indictment. Karl Eugene Leslie, 42, from Whiteriver, Arizona, was taken into custody in Canyon Day on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation.
The indictment includes 15 counts: Aggravated Sexual Abuse, Kidnapping (including one count involving a victim under 18), Sexual Abuse through Fear, Sexual Abuse through Coercion, and Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law. The charges were returned on December 23, 2025.
Leslie served as an active law enforcement officer with the White Mountain Apache Tribal Police Department from April 2007 until June 2024. According to the indictment, he is accused of sexually abusing three victims while on duty between December 1, 2020, and September 25, 2023. The allegations state that Leslie forcibly raped and kidnapped two victims—one of whom was a minor—and twice engaged in sexual acts with a third victim by threatening her and placing her in fear. All three victims are members of the White Mountain Apache Tribe residing on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation.
The FBI’s Phoenix Field Office believes there may be additional victims. The agency urges anyone with information or potential victims to contact them at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit information online at https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/victim-services/seeking-victim-information/seeking-victim-information-in-karl-leslie-investigation.
If convicted of Aggravated Sexual Abuse, Kidnapping, 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 for each count. The charge of Kidnapping-Victim Under 18 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.”
More details about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona can be found at http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
