During repeated security pat downs, a Denver woman claims to have been sexually assaulted by TSA agents-on a day she wasn't even flying, UK MailOnline reported.
While dropping her 13-year-old daughter at the gate for her Dec. 26 flight, 39-year-old Jamelyn Steenhoek said she was violated by TSA screeners as the friskings felt more like a medical exam.
After she filed a report at the Denver Police Department, her claims are being investigated by the police, according to CBS Denver.
"We take all complaints seriously and we are on this case," a police spokesperson told the station. "We have launched an investigation into it."
As Steenhoek was escorting her daughter to the Philadelphia-bound flight's gate, an alarm went off at the security checkpoint. The TSA inspectors were alerted by the alarm, she said in an interview to CBS Denver.
According to UK MailOnline, she said that her her jeans must have been at fault as they had studs on the back pockets. An agent then conducted an explosives swab on her hands.
"Then they told me I tested positive for explosives," she recalled, saying that she told screeners she pumped gas earlier that day and it must have triggered the positive result.
"We'll have to do a search." So I thought, "Okay," said Steenhoek.
Like any other person that is singled out for TSA searchers, Steenhoek was taken aside and frisked in the open for a more complete search. But she said something felt off.
"They told me to spread my arms and spread my feet," she explained. "At that point she did a pretty invasive search. They are just areas of the body I'm not comfortable being touched in. On the outside of my pants she cupped my crotch. I was uncomfortable with that."
"The part of the search that bothered most was the breast search. You could tell it shouldn't take that much groping. To me it was as extensive as an exam from my physician - full touching and grabbing in the front. I felt uncomfortable, I felt violated."
When the nothing was found by the agent, she was taken to another room to conduct the search again, UK MailOnline reported.
"The whole search was done over and more touching and grabbing than the first time," said the distraught woman.
When the agents couldn't find any prohibited items, Steenhoek was let off and her daughter was able to catch the flight. A complaint was filed three days later by her on claims of sexual assault, UK MailOnline reported.
"I was looking for consequences, for TSA to be accountable for what they do to people," she said.
"Officers are trained to perform each pat down in a professional manner to ensure that all individuals are screened to the same standards," a TSA spokesperson said in a statement.
The agency "is confident the facts will support our officer's adherence to proper pat-down procedures."
The claims are still being investigated by authorities, UK MailOnline reported.
