A Canadian woman is now suing two female U.S. border guards in Detroit for an unreasonable search conducted at the border in 2010.

In March 2010, Loretta Van Beek was travelling to Savannah, Ga., where she owns a small vacation home, when she was pulled over by customs agents at the Ambassador Bridge, across the river from Windsor, Ont.

Van Beek, 46, told CBC News she was sent to secondary inspection when customs officers found a few raspberries in her car that she’d forgotten to declare. After more than an hour of questions, Van Beek was told she was being denied entry on suspicion that she was living illegally in the U.S.

Van Beek said she was marched into a holding cell by two female agents and ordered to remove her shirt and stand spread-eagled against the wall.

“She was squeezing my nipples, etc., for a very long time, unnecessary attention,” Van Beek said of one of the agents. “It was sexual — using her fingertips, not back of hand like you would expect.”

Then she said the search became even more invasive.

“She ran her hands in my lower region,” Van Beek said.

Van Beek claims the guard shoved her hand inside her genital area while the other officer watched.

She said they photographed her and took her fingerprints, then sent her back to Canada.

Though this happened nearly a year ago, it highlights the extent and length of invasive searches by US Customs and Border Patrol officers.

The CBP’s comment exemplify who so many people are distrustful of them.

We rely upon the judgment of our individual CBP officers to use their discretion as to the extent of examination necessary. However, CBP officers are expected to conduct their duties in a professional manner and to treat each traveller with dignity and respect.”

A spokesperson said a strip-search is allowed when there is reason to believe someone is hiding something on his or her body, and the person has to be told the reason.

CBP’s actions in this matter are also questionable. If she had a few raspberries, why not toss them, check Van Beek’s car and send her on her way? She probably just forgot she had them. It happens. Also, why would they need to do a strip search? If she was going to hide anything, she’d hide it in the car.

There is also the fact that they believed she was living illegally in the US, yet it doesn’t appear that CBP ever attempted to see if she really had a vacation home. A simple check would have returned results that she came to America often to stay at her vacation home in Georgia.

Even if it was true she was living illegally in America, why was she subjected to a secondary search? It appears that it was a random stop, but the raspberries still do not warrant the indignity that Ms. Van Beek suffered.