Former CIA agent convicted of drugging and abusing women

Former CIA agent Brian Jeffrey Raymond was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty in a Washington court to drugging and sexually assaulting several women – most of whom he photographed and filmed while they were unconscious – in several countries where he was assigned, the US Department of Justice reported on Thursday (19).

Raymond had pleaded guilty in November 2023 to charges of sexual abuse, coercion and enticement and transportation of obscene material, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves said in a statement.

As part of the plea agreement, the former agent admitted to drugging and then having nonconsensual sex with four women and having nonconsensual sexual contact with six others.

Raymond also admitted to drugging 28 women and then creating obscene material without their consent.

Graves highlighted in the statement that the former agent lured the women to his homes “rented” by the US government.

Raymond was arrested in October 2020 in the state of California. At the time, he was working for a US government agency at the Mexican Embassy, ​​a country where several victims were identified.

During his time in Mexico, between August 2018 and June 1, 2020, the former agent “used his residence to engage in criminal sexual conduct (…) undressing, photographing and filming at least nine unconscious women,” according to court documents.

Additionally, between 2006 and 2020, in Mexico City and elsewhere, Raymond drugged and then photographed or videotaped 25 victims while they were nude or partially nude.

Many of the recordings show Raymond touching and manipulating the victims’ bodies while they were unconscious and unable to consent.

After learning of the criminal investigation, the former agent attempted to delete explicit photos and videos showing the victims.

The complaint that triggered the investigation occurred on May 31, 2020, when neighbors alerted Mexico City Police that “a naked and hysterical woman was screaming desperately for help” on the balcony of the defendant’s apartment.

According to the victim, they went out on a date after making contact through the Tinder app and went to Raymond’s apartment, who offered her a glass of wine, and the woman “suddenly fainted”.

“She (the woman) reported that she was unaware that she had had sexual relations with the defendant until she was examined by doctors who informed her that she had injuries caused by vaginal and anal penetration,” according to the initial complaint.

After the incident, Raymond was transferred to the US and resigned from his post.

In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered Raymond to serve a life sentence on supervised release and pay $260,000 in restitution to his victims.

Upon release from prison, Raymond will be required to register as a sex offender under the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

Graves emphasized that the sentence ensures that “the defendant will be properly branded a sex offender for the rest of his life and will spend a substantial portion of that time behind bars.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Department of Justice thanked the government of Mexico, including the Attorney General’s Office, the Mexico City Attorney General’s Office, and the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for their efforts, support, and cooperation during the investigation.