ICE Agent Arrested For Sodomy, Incest, Another Officer Charged With 4 Murders

An officer working with the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was arrested for multiple charges of sodomy and incest, last week, Oregon State Police announced Saturday.

After a joint investigation by ICE and Oregon police, 55-year-old Blake Northway was arrested Thursday. According to online records with the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, Northway, who was employed with the agency’s office in Medford, Oregon, was charged with 10 counts of sodomy – including a first-degree charge – and one count of incest.

Authorities have, however, clarified the charges were not related to crimes committed while on duty at the agency. ICE also confirmed the suspect had been "relieved of all authority" and placed on leave until the investigation concludes. It was unclear if Northway will receive payment during his leave.

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold its officers to the highest standards of professional conduct and does not tolerate those who violate the law. ICE will continue to cooperate until this case has been resolved,” ICE Public Affairs Officer Tanya Roman said in an official statement, Newsweek reported.

Details of Northway’s alleged crimes have not been released. He was being held at the Jackson County Jail on $1 million bail.

According to Oregon State Law, “A person who engages in deviate sexual intercourse with another person or causes another to engage in deviate sexual intercourse commits the crime of sodomy in the first degree.”

The severity of the crime was exceptional, as the victim was either under 12 years of age; under 16 of age and a blood relative; or was mentally disabled or physically incapacitated.

The news of Northway was reported around the same time another Border Patrol agent, Juan David Ortiz, 35, was arrested Saturday and charged with four counts of murder and one unlawful restraint with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Ortiz confessed to killing four people between Sept. 3 and 15. He would have reportedly claimed his fifth victim if the woman he had abducted had not escaped and alerted a police officer, leading to his arrest, CNN reported.

Andrew Meehan, an ICE spokesperson, said in a statement to CNN the agency was fully cooperating with investigators.

"While it is CBP policy to not comment on the details of an ongoing investigation, criminal action by our employees is not, and will not be tolerated," his statement read. "Out of respect for the victims' family and friends, we ask that deference and due process be given to the investigation so that all the facts are brought to light and they can receive the closure they deserve."

The bodies of four victims were recovered after Ortiz’s arrest, although the police said they were ruling out the possibility of finding more victims. The identities of the victims were not released, except that three of them were women and one of them was a transgender woman. All of them worked as prostitutes.

"He was profiling certain kinds of victims," Webb County District Attorney Isidro R. "Chilo" Alaniz said. "The suspect was hunting for his victims."