Border Patrol trainee one of 2 men charged with Sahuarita sexual assault, kidnapping

A Border Patrol agent in training and another Southern Arizona man are each charged with felonies after they allegedly planned to sexually assault someone and drugged her in order to do so.

Zabdiel Kofi Echie, 24, and Joaquin Corona Borboa, 21, each face a count of sexual assault and kidnapping.

Echie’s attorney identified him as a trainee with Border Patrol on Wednesday at his initial appearance, according to the Green Valley News.

According to court documents, Echie and Borboa picked the victim up on June 19 in Tucson and drove her to Echie’s home in Sahuarita.

During the ride there, Sahuarita police say, they gave her a alcohol and an “unknown white powdery substance,” impairing her memory and causing her to become dizzy.

The victim told police Borboa assaulted her during the commute.

She fell unconscious at the home, before Echie and Borboa sexually assaulted her and recorded it on video, authorities said.

The victim also reported that she was taken to Borboa’s home, where he physically and sexually assaulted her again.

According to the Green Valley News, Sahuarita police searched a home Wednesday in connection with the case.

Police say they recovered a 26-second video of the attack at Echie’s home from his phone and found messages between both defendants planning the assault, plus messages between each of them and the victim.

Authorities recommended high bonds for both men over a number of factors: evidence showing the assault was planned and their continued communication with the victim afterwards, while she was still processing what happened.

Echie was booked into the Pima County Jail and released Thursday on a $150,000 bond. Borboa remained Friday in the jail with bond set at $350,000.

Sexual assault and kidnapping are both Class 2 felonies under Arizona law, with potential sentences of up to 12.5 years behind bars.

Public relations staffers for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the parent agency of the Border Patrol, did not respond to requests for comment.