Three Customs and Border Protection agents in the US have made explosive allegations of ritualised sexual assault and workplace hazings, which they say took place for years at Newark Airport.
Speaking to NBC, the agents allege they were duct-taped to a notorious conference table known as the “rape table” by senior employees and even held at gunpoint.
CBP officer Vito Degironimo described the senior officers as “monsters”.
“They take you in a room, and your fellow officers are all watching as officers grab you,” he said.
“Once the lights go out, they grab you up like a gang, and they forcibly throw you on the table and one officer ended up mounting me and pretty much riding me like a horse.”
Degironimo revealed he is still haunted by a song from the MTV show Jackass, which he said was played during the alleged hazing.
“It’s called the ‘Party Boy song.’ It’s something they played in the past and it becomes their theme for the event.”
According to female officer Diana Cifuentes, an agent told her: “’You deserve to be put on the rape table”.
She said she was held down while another secured her to a chair with green customs tape. Cifuentes reports an officer even pulled a gun on her.
The third officer, Dan Arencibia, believes his career has been ruined by the incidents, while Cifuentes revealed, “I do nothing but cry”.
The officers’ attorney Patrick Metz suggested the alleged sexual harassment had been ongoing for years and was “common knowledge” among Newark employees.
A spokesperson for US Customs and Border Protection told Broadly an investigation into the hazing allegations was currently underway.
“We do not tolerate corruption or abuse within our ranks, and we cooperate fully with all criminal or administrative investigations of alleged misconduct by any of our personnel, whether it occurs on or off duty,” the spokesperson said.
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