Border Patrol Agent Philip Westerman Was Accused of Sexually Assaulting an Immigrant Woman While She Was Hospitalized in Federal Custody.

 

Border Patrol Agent Philip Westerman Was Accused of Sexually Assaulting a Woman While She Was in Federal Custody

Philip Westerman was a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Texas, including working at the vehicle checkpoint in Falfurrias.

In 2014, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, Digna O. Quezada Cuevas, filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit against him.

Her allegation was horrifying.

According to the lawsuit, Quezada Cuevas was being held in federal custody and receiving medical treatment in a hospital room when Westerman allegedly sexually assaulted her.

She sued Westerman for violating her constitutional rights.

The case drew attention from civil-rights organizations documenting allegations of abuse and inadequate oversight within Customs and Border Protection.

The information provided here describes a civil lawsuit and allegation, not a criminal conviction. I would not characterize Westerman as having been convicted of sexual assault without additional court records establishing that.

But the alleged power imbalance is exactly why this case belongs in the Accountability Archive.

She was an undocumented immigrant, hospitalized and still in federal custody. He was the armed federal agent responsible for guarding her. She alleged that he used that moment of extraordinary vulnerability to sexually assault her.