A 41-year-old Gilbert man  was indicted this week for a series of offenses related to child pornography, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.

Alaa Robert Bartley, a former Phoenix police officer, faces charges that include attempted production of child pornography, attempted coercion and enticement of a minor and multiple counts of distributing, receiving and possessing child pornography. He is being detained in custody pending a trial, officials stated in a release.

The indictment alleges that between August 2020 and August 2023, Bartley repeatedly exchanged digital images of child pornography. It also alleges that in 2019, Bartley attempted to take sexually explicit images of a 15-year-old girl in a bathroom, and from December 2023 to April 2024, he used facilities of interstate commerce while attempting to induce another minor to engage in criminal sexual activity, according to the release.

The Phoenix Police Department issued a statement: “Former Officer Alaa Bartley has separated from employment with the City of Phoenix Police Department. Bartley tendered his resignation on April 18, 2024, prior to scheduled administrative action.

“The Phoenix Police Department has identified cases for review, dating back to 2008, in which Bartley was one of the initial responding officers. Those cases were independently investigated by detectives under normal protocols without Bartley’s involvement. We are also working with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office to review cases that have been submitted for prosecution dating back to 2012.”

Attempted production of child pornography carries a potential sentence of 15-30 years in prison, attempted coercion and enticement of a minor carries a sentence of 10 years to life in prison and each count of distributing, receiving and possessing child pornography carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

All counts also carry a potential fine of up to $250,000 and up to a lifetime term of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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