MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A former Montgomery police officer has been convicted by a federal jury for abusing his law enforcement authority to sexually assault a handcuffed woman inside his patrol car, federal prosecutors announced.
Markelle Jaquan Cox, 32, was found guilty on Friday, September 18, 2026, of four federal counts of deprivation of rights under color of law and three counts of obstruction of justice, according to U.S. Attorney Thomas Govan for the Middle District of Alabama.
October 2023 Shoplifting Response and Abuse
The charges stem from an October 20, 2023, incident in which Cox, then an active officer with the Montgomery Police Department (MPD), responded to a shoplifting report at a department store on Eastern Boulevard in Montgomery.
During the investigation, Cox placed the victim in handcuffs and escorted her to his patrol vehicle. While she was restrained inside the car, Cox engaged in unlawful sexual contact, including reaching under her clothing to touch intimate areas of her body. He subsequently removed the handcuffs and forced her to touch him.
Because the victim was non-English speaking, Cox used a digital translation app on his mobile phone to solicit sexual acts. Before releasing her from the scene, Cox directed the victim to unlock her phone so he could input his personal phone number into her contact list.
Investigation, Body-Camera Evidence, and Obstruction
Immediately following her release, the victim called 911 and traveled directly to MPD headquarters to file a formal criminal complaint.
MPD investigators opened an immediate inquiry and interviewed Cox, who denied committing any sexual misconduct. However, body-worn camera footage recovered from the scene corroborated the victim’s statements. Subsequent forensic examinations of both mobile devices confirmed the use of the translation app and verified that Cox’s phone number had been added to the victim’s device during the encounter.
When confronted with the video and digital evidence, Cox continued to make false statements to investigators. In rendering its guilty verdict, the federal jury found that Cox used his position as a police officer to violate the victim’s constitutional right to bodily integrity and subsequently lied to authorities to obstruct the investigation.
Potential Penalties
Cox remains in federal custody pending a formal sentencing hearing to be scheduled in the coming months. He faces a maximum statutory sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison. A federal district judge will determine the sentence after reviewing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and relevant statutory factors.
The case was investigated jointly by the Montgomery Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric Counts, Christine Levi, and Faith Mote prosecuted the case on behalf of the Middle District of Alabama.