A former detective with the Lincoln County sheriff's office has been accused in a federal indictment of violating the rights of five women he was tracking as part of their participation in a drug court program.
The United States Attorney's office announced the charges against 49-year-old Scott Edwards on Thursday. He faces three federal felonies and two misdemeanors, including:
- Two felony counts of deprivation of rights under the color of law including aggravated sexual abuse;
- One felony county of deprivation of rights under the color of law including kidnapping;
- Two misdemeanor counts of deprivation of rights under the color of law including sexual contact.
According to the indictment, Edwards was serving as a tracker for the Lincoln County Drug Court between February 2009 and November 2010, when the crimes allegedly took place. Drug courts give some offenders a chance to avoid jail and obtain treatment for their addictions, so long as they abide by strict testing policies and sometimes curfews.
The Lincoln County court employed law enforcement officers, including Edwards, to serve as "trackers" monitoring the whereabouts of drug court defendants.
The indictment alleges that Edwards engaged in acts that caused bodily injury to three of the women, including aggravated sexual abuse of two of those three. Edwards allegedly also engaged with acts that included sexual contact with three of the women. He's also accused of confining one of the victims by force, intimidation and deception.
Edwards no long works for the sheriff's department. The circumstances of his departure are unknown, and the department did not return calls for comment.
The FBI's St. Louis office is asking anyone who believes they may have been a victim of Edwards or has additional information to call 314-241-4324.
