NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, April 9, 2015, 1:18 AM
The Secret Service suspended supervisor Xavier Morales’ security clearance and placed him on indefinite administrative leave after a female employee accused him of trying to kiss her and grabbing her at the agency’s headquarters on March 31 following a night out, the Washington Post reported.
A high-ranking Secret Service supervisor was placed on leave after allegedly sexually assaulting a female employee, it was reported Wednesday.
The Secret Service suspended supervisor Xavier Morales’ security clearance and placed him on indefinite administrative leave after a female employee accused him of trying to kiss her and grabbing her at the agency’s headquarters on March 31 following a night out, the Washington Post reported.
Spokesman Brian Leary said the incident was first reported to the agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility on April 2, after which inspectors conducted corroborative interviews.
Director Joseph Clancy was informed the same day, and Morales, 48, was forced to turn in his gun and badge.
“The Secret Service is an agency that demands that our employees conduct themselves with the highest level of integrity,” Clancy said in a statement to the paper.
“These allegations as reported are very disturbing. Any threats or violence that endangers our employees in the workplace is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”
The woman told police a married Morales professed his love for her at a gathering at a downtown D.C. bar.
He tried to kiss her and grabbed her arms when she resisted after the two returned to the agency headquarters, according to The Post.
The D.C. police’s sex-crimes unit and a government inspector general are investigating the female agent’s claims.
Leary said the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general is also investigating the incident.
Director Joseph Clancy (center) was informed the same day, and Morales, 48, was forced to turn in his gun and badge.
The outing was a celebration for Morales, who was promoted by Clancy to head of the Secret Service’s field office in Louisville, according to The Post .
Morales is married to a fellow special agent who was recently promoted to be a deputy assistant director over government affairs in the agency’s headquarters, the paper reported.
The investigation comes just weeks after another set of allegations of booze-fueled misconduct by Secret Service agents.
Two agents — including one who worked on President Obama’s security detail — are accused of driving an agency car into an active White House bomb threat investigation.
The pair had been drinking at a retirement party, according to a published report. The March 4 incident, first reported by The Post, is under investigation by the Obama administration.
Clancy has been under intense scrutiny since being tabbed to lead the troubled agency in February.
“It’s going to take time to change some of this culture,” Clancy told a House panel last month.
With News Wire Services
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1GrZphw
0 comments:
Post a Comment