US airport employee 'molested Korean woman'

/ Korea Times file

A LaGuardia Airport employee in New York sexually molested a Korean student by pretending to search her body, press reports say.

Transportation Security Administration agent Maxie Oquendo, 40, approached the woman, 21 -- a student who flew from Utah -- claiming he needed to conduct a body search.

He then took her to a men’s washroom and conducted the illegal search, asking her to raise her arms and unzipping her pants.

The student filed a complaint with Port Authority Police and picked Oquendo from a photo array.

He was arrested Thursday, and charged with unlawful imprisonment, official misconduct, sexual abuse and harassment. He was ordered to be detained, with bail set at $3,000.

U.S. airports require TSA agents to conduct body searches in front of a witness.