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A former CIA officer accused of drugging and sexually assaulting no less than two dozen ladies throughout varied abroad postings pleaded responsible Tuesday to federal intercourse abuse expenses.
Brian Jeffrey Raymond saved almost 500 movies and images he took of bare, unconscious ladies, together with many wherein he could be seen opening their eyelids, groping or straddling them, prosecutors say. The pictures date to 2006 and observe a lot of Raymond’s profession, with victims in Mexico, Peru and different nations.
The case was simply the newest embarrassment for the CIA, which in latest months has seen a reckoning over its typically secretive and antiquated dealing with of sexual misconduct claims throughout the spy company.
The Related Press found at least two-dozen women have come ahead to inform authorities and Congress about sexual assaults, undesirable touching and what they contend are the CIA’s efforts to silence them. A CIA officer trainee was convicted in August of assault and battery for wrapping a shawl round a colleague’s neck and attempting to kiss her inside a stairwell on the company’s headquarters in Langley, Va.
The CIA has publicly condemned Raymond’s crimes, and CIA Director William Burns in Could launched a sequence of reforms to streamline claims, assist victims and extra rapidly self-discipline these concerned in misconduct.
“As this case exhibits, we’re dedicated to participating with regulation enforcement to make sure that justice is served,” the CIA mentioned in an announcement. “As well as, we take any allegations of sexual assault or sexual harassment extraordinarily severely and have taken vital steps to make sure we preserve a secure, inclusive and respectful setting for our workforce.”
Raymond’s protection lawyer didn’t reply to requests for remark.
Prosecutors described the 47-year-old Raymond as an skilled sexual predator who saved an in depth accounting of potential victims organized by identify, ethnicity and notes on their bodily traits.
Investigators combing his gadgets discovered an incriminating on-line search historical past for phrases equivalent to “Ambien and alcohol and move out” and “vodka & valium.” In a single e mail to an internet pharmacy, Raymond wrote, “Whats up, do you’ve got chloral hydrate for insomnia?”
When he was arrested three years in the past, Raymond had been stationed in Mexico Metropolis, the place he would meet ladies on courting apps and invite them again to his embassy-leased condominium for drinks.
The San Diego native, who’s fluent in Spanish and Mandarin, was solely found in 2020 after a unadorned lady Raymond met on Tinder screamed for help from his balcony, prompting a nervous neighbor to name the authorities. U.S. officers scoured Raymond’s digital gadgets and commenced figuring out the victims, all of whom described experiencing some type of reminiscence loss throughout their time with him. Prosecutors had supposed to name as many as 14 alleged victims throughout trial.
Raymond withdrew a earlier responsible plea within the case final 12 months as he efficiently challenged the admissibility of sure pictures that the choose dominated had been illegally seized from his cellphones after brokers compelled him to surrender his passcode. Different photos saved on Raymond’s iCloud account had been admitted nonetheless.
As a part of the settlement introduced Tuesday, Raymond pleaded responsible to 4 of 25 legal counts together with sexual abuse, coercion and transportation of obscene materials. Prosecutors dismissed essentially the most severe cost of aggravated sexual abuse.
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