Canadian women allege U.S. border groping

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DETROIT, March 14 (UPI) -- Four female U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Detroit are being sued by three Canadian women who allege they were sexually fondled at the border.

The lawsuit involved three separate incidents of women trying to enter the United States at the Windsor, Ontario-Detroit border dating back to January 2011, the Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday.

Lawyer Tom Wienner of Rochester, Mich., is representing the women, who allege their Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches were violated, the Windsor Star reported.

While two of the Canadian women don't want to be identified, one of the plaintiffs, 33-year-old Leslie Ingratta told the Star she was ordered to undress in a holding cell and underwent "an invasive personal search" involving her breasts, groin and buttocks.

"It was a horrible experience altogether," she said.

U.S. Customs officials declined to comment on the allegations, the Free Press said.

Since last year, there have been two other lawsuits involving allegations of excessive strip searches by female officers at the same border crossing, the report said.