FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2004 WWW.USDOJ.GOV CRT (202) 514-2008 TDD (202) 514-1888 WASHINGTON, DC - The Justice Department today announced that Thomas A. Powell Jr., a former Immigration and Naturalization Service asylum officer, was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison on corruption and civil rights charges for soliciting sex and money from asylum seekers.
Powell was convicted in August of using his power as an asylum officer to victimize two Chinese women in 2000. In one incident, he touched a female immigrant through her clothes and demanded sexual favors in exchange for recommending approval of her asylum application. She rejected his sexual advances, and her application for asylum was subsequently denied. In a second incident, Powell solicited and received a $2,000 bribe from another female immigrant who was seeking political asylum. In exchange for the bribe, Powell recommended approval of the asylum application.
This officer abused his position of public trust, and in so doing he broke faith with all the men and women who serve our country with compassion and integrity. We cannot tolerate such conduct, said R. Alexander Acosta, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. Todays sentence sends a clear message that we will vigorously prosecute those who abuse the authority with which the public entrusts them. A person who uses his or her position to prey upon those who are vulnerable and seeking asylum in this country is reprehensible. My office is committed to protecting the civil rights of all residents, said Debra W. Yang, United States Attorney for the Central District of California.
This case was investigated by the Justice Departments Office of Inspector General. It was jointly prosecuted by attorneys from Civil Rights Division and the United States Attorneys Office for the Central District of California. 04-761
Source: US Department of Justice
