A former Border Patrol agent admitted to abusing his authority by forcing women to expose themselves during what should have been routine virtual entry processing into the United States, acknowledges the Department of Justice. Shane Millan, 53, of Jefferson County, New York, entered a guilty plea to two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law, a betrayal of the badge he once carried, as disclosed by Acting U.S. Attorney Daniel Hanlon along with Vance Kuhner, Special Agent in Charge at U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Professional Responsibility in New York.
During these virtual admissions processes, Millan required several women to show their breasts on a webcam, an act he claimed was necessary for their entry into the U.S., when in truth, it was for his satisfaction, an exploitation masked by authority carried out from a screen's safe remove; his forthcoming sentencing, set for July 7, 2025, could see him face up to two years in prison and up to $200,000 in fines, a potential end to his time served in the shadows of law enforcement, according to the DOJ statement.
The flagrant violation of these individuals' civil rights by a government official casts a harsh light on the powers afforded to those charged with protecting borders and, implicitly, the rights of those crossing them; the very foundation of trust between public servants and civilians trembles beneath the weight of such transgressions. This case, which the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Professional Responsibility Investigative Operations Directorate investigates, is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael F. Perry and Michael D. Gadarian.
