Armed guard is accused of raping a migrant in a federal building

A security guard who worked at a federal building in Manhattan has been charged with forcing an asylum seeker to perform oral sex on him, violating the migrant’s constitutional rights, federal prosecutors said Monday.

On May 4, the guard, Jimmy Solano-Arias, 42, ordered the migrant, a man whose age and name were not released, into a locked room, where he sexually assaulted him, according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office southern district of New York.

Mr. Solano-Arias worked for a company that provided security to the Department of Homeland Security at Federal Plaza, according to a complaint filed in federal court.

It was there that Mr. Solano-Arias approached the victim, who went to the building to file an asylum application, said Michael J. Driscoll, the deputy director in charge of the New York field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Investigation, in a statement.

Mr. Solano-Arias “was tasked with keeping the many federal employees and visitors to 26 Federal Plaza safe,” Damian Williams, Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor, said in a statement.

Instead, “he used his uniform and firearm to force a vulnerable person seeking asylum to perform oral sex on him,” Williams said.

Mr. Solano-Arias was charged with a charge of deprivation of rights under the Act involving kidnapping and aggravated sexual abuse. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. His attorney, Sylvie Jill Levine, did not immediately respond to a message for comment.

The victim is part of a mass migration consisting mainly of people from Latin America fleeing poverty and unrest at home. New York officials have said more than 70,000 migrants have arrived since the spring and more than 40,000 are in the city’s care.

On May 4, the victim went to Federal Plaza and was in line when Mr. Solano-Arias approached him, according to the indictment. Speaking in Spanish, he asked the victim, who spoke little English, why he was there and if he had any family with him.

The victim said he was alone and Mr. Solano-Arias took him to a room on the 12th floor, where the victim was waiting.

The victim left and on his way to the elevators, Mr. Solano-Arias approached him again and asked if he needed more help, the complaint said. When the victim said yes, Mr. Solano-Arias took him to another floor and to another room, a locked office within the offices of the Federal Tax Court. Once inside, he ordered the victim to perform oral sex, the indictment said.

“The victim tried to resist Solano-Arias,” the indictment said. Then the victim noticed that the guard had put his hand on his gun.

As they went back into the hallway, another guard saw them and asked the victim what he was doing there, according to the indictment. Mr. Solano-Arias then scolded the victim for being in that part of the building.

The victim reported the assault that day. When federal agents questioned Mr. Solano-Arias the next day, he said the meeting was consensual.

Mr. Solano-Arias was arrested and released on a $175,000 personal recognition guarantee – a written promise to appear in court if necessary.