Former CIA Officer Convicted of Drugging, Sexually Assaulting, and Filming Dozens of People: NPR

A photo provided by the FBI in October 2023 shows former CIA agent Brian Jeffrey Raymond, who pleaded guilty that year to drugging, filming and sexually assaulting dozens of women in multiple countries over a 14-year period.

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Warning: This story contains detailed descriptions of sexual assault.

A former CIA agent has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for drugging, sexually assaulting and filming more than two dozen women in multiple countries over a decade.

Brian Jeffrey Raymond, 48, was also sentenced to life on parole, ordered to pay $260,000 in restitution to victims and to register as a sex offender after his release from prison, the Justice Department said. said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Today’s sentence ensures that the defendant will be properly classified as a lifelong sex offender, and that he will spend a substantial portion of the remainder of his life behind bars,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves.

Raymond, of La Mesa, California, pleaded guilty last year to one count each of sexual abuse, abusive sexual contact, coercion and seduction, and transportation of obscene material, which carry penalties of 24 to 30 years in prison.

As part of the plea deal, Raymond admitted to drugging and having nonconsensual sexual intercourse with four women, as well as nonconsensual sexual contact with six others. He also admitted to drugging two other women and taking photos or videos of 28 victims while they were fully or partially nude without their knowledge or permission.

“Numerous recordings depict Raymond touching and manipulating the victims’ bodies while they were unconscious and unable to consent,” prosecutors wrote at the time, adding that he attempted to delete the footage once he became aware of the criminal investigation.

Prosecutors said in court documents that Raymond engaged in a “criminal scheme to exploit women” for 14 years.

“The defendant’s goal was simple: to sexually and physically assault women when they were most vulnerable and to create a lasting collection of photographs and videos commemorating his heinous acts,” they wrote.

The attacks took place at his “government-rented home” in Mexico City and other locations – which authorities have not specified – between 2006 and 2020, when he was arrested.

Raymond was employed by the U.S. government at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City from August 2018 to May 2020, according to the FBI, which says he lived in numerous other countries, including Peru and the United States, where he resided in the Washington, D.C., and San Diego areas.

Prosecutors said he speaks Spanish and Mandarin and met many of his victims on dating apps. Prosecutors said some of the victims had known Raymond for years.

The case against Raymond began in May 2020, when a naked woman was seen screaming for help from the balcony of his Mexico City residence.

“Raymond admitted to having sexual intercourse with her, but the woman said she had no memory of the events after consuming drinks and food provided by Raymond,” the prosecutor said. The FBI wrote in a 2021 public notice.

Officers searched Raymond’s electronic devices, where they discovered hundreds of photos and videos depicting at least 24 “unconscious and nude or partially nude females.”

Court documents reviewed by NPR say they found 487 videos and images of unconscious women in “various states of undress” on multiple devices owned by Raymond, as well as searches for terms such as “passed out,” “ambien,” “ambien and alcohol and passing out,” “zolpidem and pharmacies” and “deep sleep” between 2010 and 2011.

The FBI said nearly all of the women involved “suffered memory loss during their time with Raymond and had no knowledge of the photographs, videos or any physical contact.”

“For 14 years, Raymond exploited his position of trust as a U.S. government official to lure women into his confidence,” said FBI Assistant Director David Sundberg. “The FBI thanks the courageous women who shared information that advanced this investigation.”

Many of those women were present in the Washington DC courtroom when his sentence was handed down on Wednesday.

Women describe shock and pain at learning what happened to them

Raymond’s victims filled four rows in the courtroom, and 12 of them spoke up to ask that he be sentenced to the maximum sentence, the Washington Post reports.

While their stories with Raymond varied—some met him on dating apps, others have known him for nearly 20 years—they used similar words to describe him: a great guy, a perfect gentleman. Or so they thought.

Prosecutors wrote in court documents that Raymond’s actions typically followed a pattern: He would drug women in his apartment with wine and snacks, then “spend hours moving, posing and assaulting them.” The photographs typically focused on the women’s breasts and genitals, and Raymond “posed their bodies and manipulated their eyelids, mouths and limbs.”

“The defendant lured his victims into his apartment where, unbeknownst to them, another woman had been drugged hours or days earlier,” prosecutors wrote. “Some stood in his hallway where another woman had recently vomited. Others stumbled upon his bed where another woman had lain unconscious the night before.”

Prosecutors wrote that while the victims felt physically ill and a “deep sense of shame” about not being able to remember what happened in the days that followed, Raymond “played foolish” when asked about the night and steered the conversation to his busy schedule or health problems in his family.

He also bragged to a close friend about his sexual conquests and added victims’ names to a list, prosecutors said, “noting their ages, ethnicities and, sometimes, whether their breasts were real.”

The women who spoke in court Wednesday, who were not named, described the shock they felt when the FBI showed them photos of themselves being assaulted while they were unconscious — in some cases years after the incident — and the lasting impact the trauma had on their well-being and relationships with others.

“My body looks like a corpse on a bed,” one victim said, according to the AP. “Now I have nightmares about being dead.”

Raymond, who has been held without bail in a Washington, D.C. jail since 2020, listened dejectedly in his orange jail jumpsuit.

At one point, he read a statement taking responsibility for his “downward spiral” and apologizing for what he called “his reckless actions.”

“I know that no matter what I say, it won’t erase what I did, but I sincerely apologize and I am deeply sorry,” Raymond said. “I’m not like that, but that’s what I’ve become, and I’m devastated.”

Raymond’s lawyers had asked the judge to give him a more lenient 24-year sentence, citing his “quasi-military” work with the CIA after 9/11, the AP reported.

“While he worked tirelessly in his government position, he ignored his own need for help and, over time, he began to isolate himself, detach himself from human feelings and become emotionally numb,” defense attorney Howard Katzoff wrote in a court filing. “He was an invaluable government employee, but it cost him dearly and led him down a dark path.”

But U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly imposed the maximum sentence, saying Raymond’s actions “betrayed his government and his country.”

“It’s safe to say he’s a sexual predator,” she told the AP. “You’ll have some time to think about it.”

CIA under scrutiny over handling of sexual misconduct complaints

The CIA condemned the “reprehensible and appalling behavior” of its former agent.

Carolyn Kaster/AP

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Carolyn Kaster/AP

Raymond’s conviction comes amid broader prosecutions for sexual misconduct within the CIA, from which he resigned after his arrest.

A AP investigation A study published in 2023 found that at least two dozen women had come forward in the preceding months to report to authorities and Congress sexual assault, unwanted touching and what they perceived as an agency campaign to prevent them from speaking out.

At that time, the CIA Inspector General also opened an independent investigation in its alleged mishandling of sexual misconduct. The AP reported in August This year, a 648-page internal oversight report confirmed “systemic deficiencies” in this regard.

CIA Director William Burns publicly acknowledged in July that “we still have a lot of work to do” and said the agency take steps to strengthen its response to reports of sexual assault and sexual harassment, including streamlining reporting channels and hiring a permanent investigator to facilitate interactions with law enforcement.

In a statement shared with NPR Thursday, a CIA spokesperson condemned Raymond’s crimes “in the strongest terms,” ​​saying there was no excuse for his “reprehensible and appalling behavior.” They added that the case underscores the agency’s commitment to engaging with law enforcement.

“We take any allegations of sexual assault or sexual harassment very seriously and have taken significant steps to ensure a safe, inclusive and respectful environment for our staff,” they wrote. “We must get this right; our employees demand nothing less.”