By Steve Neavling
A Michigan-based Border Patrol agent was arrested after allegedly sending obscene material and soliciting sex from an undercover officer posing online as a 13-year-old girl, federal authorities said Wednesday.
Harry Marvelle Peless III, 51, of Newport, was charged after FBI agents say he initiated near-daily conversations beginning in September 2024 through a messaging app, believing he was speaking with a minor.
During the chats, Peless allegedly sent explicit material and repeatedly asked the undercover officer to run away with him and have sex, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court. Investigators also found that Peless accessed the chat account while on duty, prosecutors said.
Peless is employed as a CBP agent in Michigan. He was arrested by the FBI following a joint investigation with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General and CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility.
“This case reflects our continued commitment to protecting children and holding public officials accountable,” U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. said in a statement.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Cheyvoryea Gibson joined Gorgon in announcing the arrest.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eaton Brown.
A criminal complaint is a formal charge and not evidence of guilt. Peless is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
