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Jury finds former Columbus vice officer guilty, acquits another in federal case

A federal jury reached a decision in the case against two former Columbus police vice officers.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A federal jury reached a decision in the case against two former Columbus police vice officers who were charged with violating the civil rights of people they investigated on Tuesday.

The jury found Steven Rosser guilty of conspiracy to violate an individual's civil rights. He was found not guilty on another count.

Whitney Lancaster was found not guilty of conspiracy to violate an individual's civil rights.

According to court documents and testimony, Rosser and others “conspired to deprive” the civil rights of one of the owners of a gentlemen’s club by seizing and searching him and his vehicle without probable cause in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

During the trial, the government presented evidence that Rosser was part of a scheme to frame the victim for cocaine possession. The actual amount of cocaine planted on the scene as part of the plot was a minuscule amount, approximately .017 gram.

Authorities say Rosser falsified documentation to conceal the conspiracy activity after orchestrating the fraudulent arrest.

Before being fired by the Columbus Division of Police, Rosser and Lancaster spent a year on desk duty following the controversial arrest of Stormy Daniels and two other women in July of 2018. The women all sued and received settlements from the city.

Lancaster and Rosser were fired by the Columbus Division of Police in 2019 and they were arrested in 2020.

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