Tables turned on convicted voyeur cop who reported feeling watched

FOX Files

by: Chris Hayes

Posted: Mar 31, 2021 / 10:19 PM CDT / Updated: Apr 1, 2021 / 08:58 AM CDT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – A former Chesterfield cop busted for being a bathroom voyeur recently said he now fears being secretly monitored.

David Cerna was just about to get off of probation for what FOX 2 caught him doing, until just this past Friday. Cerna pleaded guilty to drug possession. It may not sound like an unusual offense, until you read the corresponding police report.

Cerna’s story went international in 2014, when our FOX 2 investigation found he was secretly recording people using the men’s restroom at a Mobile on the Run gas station in Chesterfield. Cerna was then posting the videos to adult websites.

He was a Chesterfield police officer at the time. We also learned later in court that Cerna hid a camera in his own department’s locker room and secretly recorded a teen suspect’s body parts during a pat down.

Cerna was fired, gave up his police license, and was convicted in a case that should have had him off probation this year, except for what he just pleaded guilty to.

It involves an October 2019 report from the Crestwood Police Department. It says Kohl’s called about a man possibly stealing socks and a Nike t-shirt. Responding officers reported finding Cerna’s pockets filled with things like gift cards, cellphones, and a wireless speaker.

The arresting officer wrote, “David was acting paranoid and believed the DEA was chasing him in a helicopter.”

The officer also reported finding “a baggy (that) contained a small amount of crystal substance that appeared to be amphetamines.”

The officer continued writing that Cerna told him that his, “…pants… didn’t belong to him. He said he had never seen the baggy in his life. David said if he had drugs, he would conceal them in his underwear or somewhere they couldn’t be found.”

FOX 2 has tried getting Cerna to talk about his criminal troubles for years and he’s never answered with anything other than a “no comment.”

Cerna is staying out of prison with his latest guilty plea for the time being. The judge says he could go to prison for four years if he messes up with his probation officer. He will remain under court supervision for his latest offenses until 2026.

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