Woman molested by U.S. border agents after failing to declare "raspberries"

CBC News
Feb. 12, 2011

...Van Beek, 46, told CBC News she was sent to secondary inspection when customs officers found a few raspberries in her car that she'd forgotten to declare. After more than an hour of questions, Van Beek was told she was being denied entry on suspicion that she was living illegally in the U.S.

Van Beek said she was marched into a holding cell by two female agents and ordered to remove her shirt and stand spread-eagled against the wall.

"She was squeezing my nipples, etc., for a very long time, unnecessary attention," Van Beek said of one of the agents. "It was sexual -- using her fingertips, not back of hand like you would expect."

Then she said the search became even more invasive.

"She ran her hands in my lower region," Van Beek said.

Van Beek claims the guard shoved her hand inside her genital area while the other officer watched.

"It was deviant behaviour by the officer, no other explanation," said Van Beek. "Saw a woman on her own -- vulnerable."

She said they photographed her and took her fingerprints, then sent her back to Canada.

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