A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent in Honolulu is the subject of an internal investigation for misconduct, according to the attorney of a woman who is claiming the agent sexually assaulted her.
Gary Dubin, who is representing Malia Arciero in a civil lawsuit against the agent, said two U.S. Department of Homeland Security special agents made numerous visits to Honolulu over the past several months to question his client and at least two other people who have complained about the agent.
"Their investigation is of a kind of disciplinary nature — not associated with criminal cases, but whether or not (the agent) should remain an agent of ICE," Dubin said. "It’s a complicated investigation."
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser is not naming the agent because he hasn’t been charged with a crime.
According to Dubin, one of those interviewed in Honolulu by the special agents investigating the federal officer is Gilbert Medina, who is being held at the Federal Detention Center after pleading guilty in May to illegal possession of a firearm and intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Medina contacted Dubin after he heard about Dubin’s client.
Medina also tried to withdraw his guilty plea after learning about Dubin’s client, saying in a letter to U.S. District Senior Judge Helen Gillmor last month that the agent forced him to admit to false allegations.
Gillmor scheduled a hearing in December for Medina’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea.
Arciero claims in her lawsuit that the agent redistributed confiscated drugs to a drug dealer for profit and forced her to perform oral sex on him while she was handcuffed to a table in ICE headquarters.
Arciero is awaiting trial on drug charges and is being held without bail at the FDC.
Dubin said the allegedly corrupt agent is part of a national problem caused by lack of supervision of law enforcement. "The bottom line is that courts do not properly supervise law enforcement, state and federal, because it’s hard to do so," he said. "The whole system has become corrupted."
He said corrupt officers usually target people with criminal records because they have less credibility.
An ICE spokeswoman said the agency does not comment on pending litigation but said ICE has strict safeguards and protocols in place, governed by regulation and policy, to ensure the security of its agents, crime victims and those who come into the agency’s custody.
