![The Massachusetts State House at night. - [Image via Cdschock - Flickr]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2018/3/5/660x290/b_502x220x82/the-massachusetts-state-house-at-night-image-via-cdschock-flickr_1874969.jpg "The Massachusetts State House at night. - [Image via Cdschock - Flickr]")
An IRS agent based in Boston, Massachusetts, is in serious legal trouble after being charged with a bevy of crimes. 44-year-old James Clarke has been charged with rape, aggravated rape, indecent assault, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and strangulation. Reportedly, his victim, a 22-year-old woman, was just a college student and a summer intern when Clarke first invited her out for drinks. A report by FOX News presented most of the facts used in this article.
On the night of July 26, 2017, Clarke and the unidentified woman went out together for a night on the town.
As the night wound down, Clarke offered to drive the woman to Boston's South Station. When the pair entered a parking garage, Clarke allegedly handcuffed the woman, assaulted her with his service firearm, and forced her to perform sexual acts against her will.
Amazingly, despite the fact that the story was first reported by the Boston Globe last November, Clarke remained employed by the IRS. It is not clear whether or not he has been placed on administrative leave at this point. Clarke's case is currently being handled by the Boston Police Department and the Suffolk County's District Attorney's Office.
Scandal
Because Clarke's arraignment has been set for April 5, his side of the story has yet to be aired in public.
However, his attorney, Michael Doolin, told reporters on Wednesday (March 7) that he and Clarke are looking "forward to being vindicated."
At this point, the scant information on the altercation appears to show that Clarke, a criminal investigations officer with the IRS, put his handgun in the victim's mouth while he demanded sexual favors.
It also appears that the alleged assault occurred in a government-owned vehicle inside of Boston's Government Center Garage. As for Clarke's current position within the IRS, the federal agency has been very mum on the topic and has refused to answer media questions on the topic.
Bad press
This is not the first time that the IRS has found itself in a negative light.
Back during the administration of President Barack Obama, an IRS field office in Cincinnati was accused of deliberately targeting the tax exemption status of several conservative groups. This 2013 scandal drew headlines again a year later when it was revealed that Lois Lerner, an attorney with the IRS, had her BlackBerry device wiped clean of information after delivering testimony to Congress.
Another federal agency, this time the FBI, made Suffolk County the headquarters of a corruption ring that involved special agents and mobsters. During the 1980s and 1990s, Special Agent John Connolly provided federal cover for Boston gangster Whitey Bulger. While Bulger fed the FBI either bad information or information that would only hurt his rivals, Connolly encouraged other agents to look away as Bulger and his gang committed several murders.
More recently, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office became the center of another controversy when it was revealed that Annie Dookhan, a state chemist, falsified evidence in countless drug crimes. Dookhan was finally arrested in 2012 and convicted of multiple counts of obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence.
