The US secret service has put a manager on administrative leave and suspended his security clearance, after a female employee accused him of assaulting her after-hours at the agency headquarters last week.

Secret service director Joseph Clancy confirmed late on Wednesday that the high-ranking official had been placed on leave, after the Washington Post reported the incident.

“The secret service is an agency that demands that our employees conduct themselves with the highest level of integrity,” Clancy said in a statement. “These allegations as reported are very disturbing. Any threats or violence that endangers our employees in the workplace is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”

According to the initial report, the female employee told police and agency investigators that her supervisor, Xavier Morales, a manager in the security clearance division, made unwanted sexual advances after grabbed her after a party on 31 March. The woman alleged that Morales tried to kiss her and grabbed her arms, but relented after a brief struggle.

Secret service staff have come under fire over the last one month, after two senior agents were accused in early March of driving an agency car into the scene of an active bomb investigation without authorization. The White House and House of Representatives oversight committee are looking into that incident and whether the drivers were intoxicated.

Last year, the head of the secret service resigned after a year and a half on the job, amid major security breaches. In one, an armed intruder was able to jump the White House fence and make it to the front door before being tackled by an off-duty agent.

It was also revealed that a private security guard with a gun and a criminal history had not been screened and was able to board an elevator with Barack Obama in Atlanta.