The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is reeling after one of its own — Willcox Border Patrol agent Bart Conrad Yager — was indicted on 24 felony charges, including 10 counts of child sex trafficking, in a case that is igniting renewed scrutiny into a department already riddled with misconduct allegations.

The 39-year-old agent was arrested in June and is being held at Cochise County Jail. According to court records and a sprawling CBP internal investigation, Yager’s alleged crimes — which span child sex trafficking, pandering, drug use, and fraud — occurred between July 2023 and March 2024.

Prosecutors allege that Yager paid over $42,000 across 231 sex-related transactions, including 35 payments totaling over $12,000 to a minor, previously documented as a victim of sex trafficking by Tempe police. Many of the encounters were reportedly conducted while Yager was on duty, using government-reimbursed hotel rooms. CBP investigators further discovered interactions with girls as young as 13, some of whom expressed fear of the agent.

Even more damning, internal reports describe Yager as having a long history of hostility toward women, erratic behavior, and workplace sexual harassment. Fellow agents and medical staff referred to him as “crazy with a hatred towards women,” and managers feared he might “snap.” Despite these red flags, he continued serving for over a decade after being hired in 2011.

This isn’t Yager’s first time in the spotlight. In 2014, he was the subject of a rape investigation by Tucson police, but no charges were filed after the alleged victim chose not to pursue the case. CBP claims it wasn’t properly notified of the allegation at the time — a claim Tucson police now dispute.

Yager is far from alone. His indictment adds to a disturbing list of CBP and DHS officers in Arizona recently arrested or convicted of sex-related crimes:

Ramon Marquez, a Yuma Sector agent, was charged in May with 14 counts of sexual conduct with a 16-year-old and 1 count of sexual exploitation of a minor.

Aaron Thomas Mitchell, a CBP port officer, is now serving 27 years in federal prison after abducting and raping a 15-year-old in 2022. He posed as a law enforcement officer to lure the victim into his car.

Efren Lopez Cornejo, a former Tucson Border Patrol agent, received lifetime probation without jail time in a plea deal after being originally charged with 14 counts of child sexual abuse, including molestation of family members as young as 9.


Civil rights advocates and former CBP insiders argue this is not a case of “a few bad apples.” Instead, they warn, it reflects a systemic rot within one of the most powerful law enforcement agencies in America.

“This is not isolated,” said Ricky Garza of the Southern Border Communities Coalition. “This agency has a longstanding culture of impunity, racism, and abuse.”

That culture, critics say, is reinforced by weak oversight and internal retaliation. Former Border Patrol agent Jenn Budd, one of the first female senior patrol agents, left the agency after being raped during training in the 1990s. Her attempts to report the assault were met with backlash — and silence.

“I was taught that women lie,” Budd said. “That the agents are always the victims.”

A 2022 investigation by the Project on Government Oversight found that CBP’s parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, suppressed reports of sexual harassment and domestic violence by agents. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas promised reforms, but watchdogs say they’ve seen little evidence of change.

In fact, under the second Trump administration, DHS has gutted internal oversight offices, including the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Oversight staff were slashed while border enforcement budgets ballooned.

“These agencies were labeled as obstacles to enforcement,” said Garza. “Now, thousands of new agents are being hired with less scrutiny than ever before.”

Meanwhile, vulnerable migrant communities — especially women and children — remain the most at risk. Advocates warn that if DHS can’t protect its own employees from abuse, it has little incentive to protect the people it detains.

“There are good agents,” said Katherine Hawkins of the Project on Government Oversight, “but they’re working in a toxic culture of dehumanization.”

As Yager awaits trial and DHS remains silent on the reforms it once promised, border communities are left asking a chilling question:

Who’s really keeping them safe?