Ex-CIA Officer Pleads Guilty to Sexually Assaulting Dozens of Women
More than three years after charges were filed against him, former CIA officer Brian Jeffrey Raymond submitted a guilty plea in a federal trial where he is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting at least two dozen women.
According to court documents, Raymond admitted that while he was working at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, Mexico, he drugged and sexually assaulted several women over the course of 14 years, between 2006 and 2020. He also took and kept nearly 500 videos and photographs of 28 women who were either partially or entirely nude. In several instances, the women in the photos or videos were unconscious, and therefore were unable to give consent while Raymond touched them.
The charges included sexual abuse, abusive sexual contact, coercion and enticement, and transportation of obscene material.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for 19 September 2024, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Raymond waived his right to a jury trial. “Prosecutors had intended to call as many as 14 alleged victims during the trial,” according to Sky News.
“Under the plea agreement, Raymond will face between 24 and 30 years in prison, supervised release for life, and mandatory restitution to the victims of his criminal offenses,” the DOJ said. The agreement also ordered Raymond to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Raymond, who is fluent in Spanish, met some of the women through two popular dating apps, Tinder and Bumble, according to court documents.
While he was stationed in Mexico, he would bring victims back to his embassy-leased housing and lace their food or drink with a drug that would induce unconsciousness. In multiple instances, the woman would not regain consciousness until the following morning and would find herself naked or nearly naked in Raymond’s bed. Sometimes, Raymond would conduct hours-long photo or video-recording sessions with the unconscious victim in various states of undress, the court documents explained. The recordings showed Raymond sexually assaulting and assaulting the women.
Assaults on other women occurred in Chicago, Illinois; Maryland; Virginia; and Washington, D.C.
“[Raymond] took all these actions with the intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade, and arouse and gratify his own sexual desire,” court documents said.
The investigation into Raymond began in May 2020, after he was detained by foreign law enforcement outside of his overseas embassy-leased housing. Law enforcement in Mexico City was called to Raymond’s apartment after receiving reports of a naked woman screaming for help from the apartment balcony, according to an affidavit. A medical examination indicated the woman had been sexually assaulted.
In 2021, Raymond initially pled guilty to sexual abuse, including unlawful sexual intercourse with two of the victims. He had also admitted to photographing or recording at least 24 of the victims while they were unconscious. The original plea meant that Raymond could face life in prison.
However, in April 2022, Raymond withdrew his guilty plea, accusing the government of violating his constitutional rights when they executed a search and seizure warrant, and pointed to a “lack of factual support” for the guilty plea. The court granted his request in October 2022.
In the new plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed the most serious charge of aggravated sexual abuse, which carried a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.