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, of Whiteriver, Arizona, was taken into custody in Canyon Day on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation.
The indictment, returned on December 23, 2025, charges Leslie with 15 counts including 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.
According to the indictment, Leslie served as an active law enforcement officer with the White Mountain Apache Tribal Police Department from April 2007 until June 2024. The allegations state that while on duty between December 1, 2020 and September 25, 2023, Leslie sexually abused three victims. It is alleged that he forcibly raped and kidnapped two of these individuals—one 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 is seeking information from potential additional victims or anyone who may have relevant information about the case. “Anyone with information and/or any potential victims [is asked] to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit the information via this 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 of any of the charges—including 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 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. Prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dimitra H. Sampson (Flagstaff) and Lindsay L. Short (Phoenix), District of Arizona.
“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.”
For further details about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
