A former U.S. Embassy employee who sexually assaulted at least 24 women over 14 years while filming the attacks was in the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigations revealed Monday as it urged any other victims to come forward.
Brian Jeffrey Raymond, 45, of La Mesa, California, faces life in prison after admitting in July to federal sexual abuse and transportation of obscene material charges. He did so after being caught while stationed at the US Embassy in Mexico City, according to the Department of Justice.
The pervert was stationed there between 2018 and his abrupt departure in May 2020. Raymond's attacks began in 2006, and investigators have yet to say where the other abuse took place.
The FBI stated that Raymond worked for ‘many years’ in the CIA, but did not indicate when he worked there, for how long and at what capacity. However, a source familiar with the case told The Daily Beast that the CIA took administrative action after Raymond’s arrest, and that he resigned from his position soon after.
An investigation of Raymond’s electronic devices showed that, between an unspecified month in 2006 and May 2020, he took hundreds of photos and videos of at least 24 unconscious and nude or partially nude women. In a number of the photos, Raymond is seen touching the victims’ breasts, genitalia and buttocks.
Brian Jeffrey Raymond, 45, of La Mesa, California, was working for the CIA while he sexually assaulted at least 24 women over 14 years and took photos and video of it. He pleaded guilty in July
The FBI stated that Raymond worked for ‘many years’ in the CIA, but did not indicate when he worked there, for how long and at what capacity
The agency urged other victims to come forward as not all the women in the photos/videos have been identified
Almost all of the women seen in the photos and videos experienced memory loss during their time with Raymond and had no knowledge that he was taking photos, recording and touching them, according to the FBI. They have yet to comment on whether those women are suspected to have been drugged.
Raymond will be sentenced in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on February 7, 2022, following a pre-sentencing evidentiary hearing that starts on January 31, 2022.
Some of the women depicted in the photographs and videos have yet to be identified and the FBI stated that it is seeking any other potential victims prior to come forward prior to Raymond’s sentencing.
A statement from the organization reads, ‘If you believe you have been a victim of Brian Jeffrey Raymond, or if you have information about Raymond, the FBI requests that you fill out a secure questionnaire, available at fbi.gov/BrianJeffreyRaymond. You can also contact the FBI via email at ReportingBJR@fbi.gov or by phone at 1-800-CALL-FBI.’
An investigation into Raymond was launched last May, after a nude woman was screen screaming for help from the balcony of his Mexico City apartment.
The woman told the FBI she had no recollection of events after consuming drinks and food provided by Raymond.
Raymond will be sentenced in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on February 7, 2022, following a pre-sentencing evidentiary hearing that starts on January 31, 2022
Raymond worked with the U.S. Embassy in Mexico (pictured above) starting in August 2018 before abruptly quitting in May 2020 and moving in with his parents in La Mesa, California
Raymond's apartment was in Mexico City’s Polanco neighborhood. It is one of the richest areas of Mexico City, a main hub for finance and high-end commerce
Raymond worked with the U.S. Embassy starting in August 2018 before abruptly quitting in May 2020 and moving in with his parents in La Mesa, California.
It is unclear what prompted the sudden departure, and whether it was linked to the probe into his abuse.
He was arrested there last October, on one count of coercion and enticement.
'Brian Raymond betrayed the trust granted to him as a U.S. government employee representing the United States abroad by engaging in years of predatory conduct sexually abusing, exploiting, and recording vulnerable women he targeted in the United States and around the world,' Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, said in a statement.
'As demonstrated by Raymond's prosecution and plea, the Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners will use all of the tools at our disposal to hold accountable those who victimize women.'
In addition to the trove of photos and videos on Raymond's devices, FBI agents said his internet history recovered revealed searches for unconscious women and side effects of prescription drugs combined with alcohol.
In his plea agreement, Raymond admitted he engaged in sexual intercourse with two of the victims depicted in the recordings 'when both were incapable of appraising the nature of the conduct or consenting to it.'
Both incidents took place in Raymond’s embassy-leased residence in Mexico City.
Raymond admitted that over the course of 14 years, he recorded and/or photographed at least 24 unconscious and nude or partially nude women, and touched the breasts, buttocks, genitalia of numerous women 'while they were incapable of consent.'
The DOJ said Raymond transported all 479 photographs and videos of 20 unconscious and nude or partially nude women, into the United States.
Raymond has worked for the U.S. government for 23 years in numerous countries, according to court documents. Prosecutors did not specify what position he held in Mexico other than to say he was working for a U.S. government agency at the embassy.
This is not the first incident in which the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City has come under fire. In 2014, an unidentified married Treasury attaché was fired after an investigation found he forced a 22-year-old woman to perform oral sex at a New Year’s Eve party at his taxpayer-funded apartment
This isn't the first incident the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City has come under fire.
In 2014, an unidentified married Treasury attaché was fired after an investigation found he forced a 22-year-old woman to perform oral sex at a New Year’s Eve party at his taxpayer-funded apartment.
However, his name has been redacted in all documents and his name has never been released, despite constant requests and the Biden administration’s pledge for more transparency.
His case resurfaced in March after Raymond was arrested.
In December, 2017, it was revealed that The Treasury Department paid $174,000 over five years to settle sexual harassment cases, many involving members of Congress.
It is not known if officials in the Treasury paid anything to settle sexual harassment claims involving its own staff.
This also isn’t the first time a government department has protected the identity of a high-ranking overseas official accused of misconduct while stationed abroad.
In January 2016, DailyMail.com uncovered that a US consulate employee had a child taken from his care because officials feared the minor was in danger following systematic abuse and neglect.
A document exposed how the International Trade Administration staff member allegedly subjected the minor to shocking care while working abroad and living in a house owned by the government
An investigation found the child was routinely underfed and encouraged to take their clothes off in the consulate residence so the man could allegedly take pictures of them naked.
At the time the unidentified employee also allegedly harassed female colleagues during his posting and used a government email address to meet women online.
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