Five members of the New York National Guard and a contract employee are accused in a federal lawsuit of sexually exploiting asylum seekers who were staying at one of the state’s hotels hosting immigrants.
At least six National Guard soldiers were on duty at the Quality Inn in Cheektowaga, New York, to help with the influx of migrants being bused into the state, according to a military report. details multiple cases of sexual exploitation. .com.
The lawsuit, filed on February 8, accuses soldiers of abducting migrants, sometimes teenagers, from hotels and seeking sexual favors or romantic relationships.
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The Quality Inn in Cheektowaga, New York, where immigrants are being held. (Google Street View)
“Guests were (and remain) particularly vulnerable given their uncertain immigration status, lack of mobility, need for basic necessities, and other needs,” the complaint says. . “Even a trip to Walmart was considered a great gift.”
Deven Colon, a religious affairs specialist with 2nd Company, 101st Cavalry Regiment, is the only soldier named in the lawsuit. According to the report, Colon was a high-ranking guard who worked at a hotel and had an inappropriate relationship with the immigrant, buying him gifts, making sexual comments and taking him to his home and other locations. It is said that Colon also allegedly told the asylum seeker that he had the authority to help her and promised to give her and her children a home and provide for them, according to the complaint. There is.
According to the complaint, Colon referred to trips away from the hotel as “dates,” and at one point arranged for a soldier to transport six other Guardsmen, women and children to a rental property about two hours from the hotel. It points out that it did. The soldier then allegedly “demanded” sexual favors from the woman, to which the woman reluctantly agreed, according to the complaint.
According to reports, Colon sent the woman an email the next day apologizing and telling her to keep their encounter a secret.
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“I am truly lost and need to find myself again. I don’t know who I have become over the past few months,” the lawsuit said.
Colon also allegedly took at least one woman and her children out of a hotel, gave the mother a massage while flirting with her teenage daughter, and then texted the teenage daughter and said he thought she was attractive. The complaint alleges that he is also suspected of having conveyed this information.
The 27th Brigade Combat Team, to which the 101st Calvary Regiment 2nd Squadron belongs, did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
New York Gov. Cathy Hochul has tasked the National Guard with assisting with the state’s migrant crisis, with about 175,000 asylum seekers being transferred to the state while their cases are processed. According to the report, 2,100 troops have been placed on active duty to deal with the influx.
National Guard troops arrive at the new immigration detention center on Randalls Island, New York. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Many of the immigrants are staying in hotels like Cheektowaga, just outside Buffalo.
Another female teenager at the hotel previously claimed that a National Guard soldier, identified in the lawsuit only as “Thomas,” groped her and forced her to flee. Other children were warned to stay away from Thomas, according to the complaint.
Immigrants chat with National Guard troops at New York’s Port Authority Bus Terminal after boarding a bus from Del Rio, Texas. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In a statement to Military.com, a spokesperson for the New York National Guard said the group takes allegations against its members “very seriously.”
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“If the investigation results in allegations being substantiated, adverse administrative and disciplinary actions may be taken pursuant to regulations and New York military law,” the spokesperson said. “Criminal activity will be reported to law enforcement for appropriate action.”
