CROSSING THE LINE

Border Patrol’s No. 2 Retires After Sex Allegations: Report

He’s accused of telling female employees he wanted to have sex with them.

The No. 2 official in the U.S. Border Patrol has decided to retire after female employees alleged that he pressured them for sex, NBC News reported. The accusations against Acting Deputy Chief Joel Martinez come a year after the third-highest-ranking official, Tony Barker, left amid claims—which he adamantly denied—that he sexually harassed a female underling. News that Martinez had been suspended surfaced last week, but NBC’s sources have now revealed the reason he came under investigation by the Office of Professional Responsibility. “We do not tolerate misconduct within our ranks,” a Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said. “When we discover any alleged or potential misconduct, we immediately refer it for investigation and cooperate fully with any criminal or administrative investigations. This is the case whether the alleged misconduct occurs on or off duty. Federal privacy laws prohibit discussion of individual cases.” Unless the agency refers the investigation to the Justice Department, however, Martinez faces no further repercussions from the federal government.