Paulo Morales, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer, pleads guilty of groping breasts

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer pled guilty on Tuesday to three civil rights charges for sexually groping three women in his custody, according to U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer.

During the court proceedings, Paulo Morales, 47, admitted that on several occasions in January 2011, he groped the breasts of three separate women in the custody of Customs and Border Protection without their consent, while he was working as an officer at Miami International Airport.

"A law enforcement badge is a privilege [and] we will not tolerate its misuse as a key to assert power or unlawful force over those in one's custody," said Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agent David P. D'Amato in a statement.

Morales is looking at up to three years in prison and a maximum $300,000 fine at his scheduled sentencing on Oct. 26, in Ft. Lauderdale, prosecutors said.