BATON ROUGE - After a day and a half of testimony, a judge found a former BRPD officer guilty of malfeasance in office — but not guilty of second-degree kidnapping — for a 2021 assault. 

Nearly three years before the trial, former officer Donald Steele was accused of luring a 19-year-old girl to a secluded location after a traffic stop and threatening to arrest her if she didn't comply. Steele allegedly made sexual advances toward the victim, groped her, looked through her phone and sent her explicit messages. WBRZ reported that Steele was on-duty but outside of his district without proper notification to his supervisors. Steele also turned his body camera off.

Steele was arrested and then placed on administrative leave. He was fired from the department a year after his arrest.

During testimony Tuesday, defense attorney Franz Borghardt accused the victim of "lying and gameplaying," saying she would have called for help if she actually felt uncomfortable. At one point during the altercation, an LSUPD officer walked up to the victim's car and asked if she was alright. WBRZ reported that Steele shooed them away before taking the victim to a more private location.

The defense claimed because she never called anyone for help on her phone, nor did she take advantage of the LSU Police questioning the scene, she was not scared and the encounter was consensual.

"You know why she didn't ask for help? Because she didn't need help. It was consensual," Borghardt said.

However, Assistant District Attorney Cummings said the victim videoed Steele's police unit and was texting her friend about what was taking place. That evidence was shown during the trial. 

"He's a hunter. He was preying on her. All of the evidence shows his intent to prey on her," Cummings said.

Steele's sentencing is set for April 30. The victim has also filed a civil lawsuit against Steele. 

"Despite the repeated calls of my client a liar, the fact that Donald Steele was found guilty today shows she's telling the truth," the victim's lawyer Ron Haley said after the trial.