The cases described below illustrate the types of abuses Border Patrol agents have committed:
On September 3, 1993, twenty-two-year-old "Juanita Gómez"117 was reportedly raped by a uniformed Border Patrol agent in a remote area near Nogales, Arizona.118 She had crossed through a hole in the border fence between Nogales, Sonora, and Nogales, Arizona, with her cousin to shop on the U.S. side when she was stopped by Border Patrol agent Larry Dean Selders. He ordered them into his vehicle and then propositioned them, stating that if one agreed to have sex with him he would not return them to Mexico. When the women declined his offer, Gómez was told to remain in the agent's vehicle while her cousin was ordered to leave. The agent then drove with Gómez into the desert, where he reportedly raped her.
Gómez reported the incident to the Mexican consulate in Nogales, Arizona, and Border Patrol and local officials questioned her, with the Nogales police accusing her of being a liar and a prostitute. She was examined at a hospital and provided detectives with samples of semen and blood for their investigation. The local police made several mistakes in collecting evidence, and the accused agent did not provide the semen and blood samples requested by the county attorney.
Agent Selders was originally charged with rape and kidnapping, but the county attorney offered to drop these charges in exchange for a "no contest" plea to "attempted transporting of persons for immoral purposes . . . while he was married," a crime which is the lowest class of felony. He was sentenced to one year in prison and would be eligible for parole after six months. From the time he was charged with rape and kidnapping until the plea was accepted, Selders was on paid administrative leave from the Border Patrol; he resigned in August 1994. In negotiating his plea agreement with the county attorney, Selders unsuccessfully sought immunity from prosecution on federal charges as well. On April 5, 1995, Selders was indicted on federal civil rights, bribery and other charges. Attorneys for Gómez have also filed a civil suit against the Border Patrol for injury and damages.
As frequently happens once a Border Patrol agent commits a serious abuse that attracts attention, information about Agent Selders' prior misconduct has begun to emerge. In this case, an attorney familiar with Gómez's caserecalled a sexual assault incident reported to her years ago in which the assailant used a similar modus operandi. In January 1995 she was able to locate the alleged victim, who identified Selders as her assailant.
On October 18, 1993, Haime Flores's van was stopped at the San Clemente checkpoint.119 She was the only passenger and was ordered out of the vehicle. A Border Patrol agent examined her documents (she had a valid temporary visa) and determined they were invalid. The agent took her into the station, where a supervisor determined her documents were valid.
The agents decided she needed to be searched, however, and summoned a female agent. In front of three male agents, the female agent allegedly examined Flores's brassiere and inserted a finger into Flores's vagina; no contraband was found. The male officers reportedly laughed and joked as they watched the search.
On September 26, 1994, an attorney filed a US$2 million civil lawsuit on Flores's behalf against the U.S. and five unnamed Border Patrol agents, alleging sexual assault and battery, false imprisonment, infliction of emotional distress, and violation of her civil rights.
In October 1989, a woman was stopped by Border Patrol agent Luis Santiago Esteves,120 who had followed her after he questioned her at a checkpoint north of Calexico, California. She and her boyfriend complained to Esteves's supervisor that Esteves made sexually explicit, harassing phone calls to the woman in the days following their encounter with him. The agent was not punished, but instead was transferred to another inspection station at the border crossing. There, he was twice arrested for allegedly raping two women he met while on duty during a two-year period. He was suspended after his arrest in the first reported rape, in December 1989, but was reinstated after the alleged victim failed to appear in court for the agent's preliminary hearing, despite this and the earlier allegation. His reinstatement underscores the Border Patrol's reluctance to investigate misconduct, and apply disciplinary sanctions, after criminal cases falter.
In July 1991, after the second alleged attack, Esteves was arrested and the following year was tried on twenty-three felony offenses against both women.121 He was found guilty on three counts of felonious sexualmisconduct, and sentenced to twenty-four years in prison. Esteves appealed his conviction and was re-tried and acquitted on all charges in December 1994. His attorneys argued successfully that the conviction had to be reversed due to "prejudicial admission of improper rebuttal evidence."122
117 Real name withheld by request.
118 This account is based on interviews with the victim, her lawyer, the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General, and press reports.
119 This account is based on information collected by the American Friends Service Committee's U.S.-Mexico Border Program and information included in the alleged victim's lawsuit.
120 People v. Esteves (Case No. 14866, Imperial County, California, 1992).
122 The People v. Luis Santiago Esteves, D017689, Super. Ct. No. 14866, Fourth Appellate District, Division One, State of California, February 22, 1994.
This Web page was created using a BETA Version of HTML Transit 4.0.