CIA officer who drugged and sexually abused over 24 women gets 30 years in jail

Raymond, a San Diego native and former White House intern who is fluent in Spanish and Mandarin, has pleaded guilty to four of 25 federal counts, including sexual abuse, coercion and transportation of obscene material.

A longtime CIA officer who drugged, photographed and sexually assaulted more than 24 women in postings around the world has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after an emotional hearing in which victims described being deceived by a man who appeared kind, educated and part of an agency "that is supposed to protect the world from evil."

Brian Jeffrey Raymond, with a greying beard and orange prison jumpsuit, sat dejectedly as he heard his punishment on Wednesday for one of the most egregious misconduct cases in the CIA's history.

"It's safe to say he's a sexual predator," US Senior Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said in imposing the full sentence prosecutors had requested.

"You are going to have a period of time to think about this."

Prosecutors say the 48-year-old Raymond's assaults date to 2006 and tracked his career in Mexico, Peru and other countries, all following a similar pattern.

He would lure women he met on Tinder and other dating apps to his government-leased apartment and drug them while serving wine and snacks.

Once they were unconscious, he spent hours posing their bodies before photographing and assaulting them.

Testimonies by victims

One by one, about a dozen of Raymond's victims, who were identified only by numbers in court, recounted how the longtime spy upended their lives. Some said they only learned what happened after the FBI showed them the photos of being assaulted while unconscious.

"My body looks like a corpse on his bed," one victim said of the photos. "Now I have these nightmares of seeing myself dead."

One described suffering a nervous breakdown. Another spoke of a recurring trance that caused her to run red lights while driving. Many told how their confidence and trust in others had been shattered forever.

"I hope he is haunted by the consequences of his actions for the rest of his life," said one of the women, who, like others, stared Raymond down as they walked away from the podium.

One victim said Raymond seemed like a "perfect gentleman" when they met in Mexico in 2020. Unbeknownst to the woman, after she blacked out, he took 35 videos and close-up photos.

"The defendant's manipulation often resulted in women blaming themselves for losing consciousness, feeling ashamed, and apologising to the defendant," prosecutors wrote in a court filing.

"He was more than willing to gaslight the women, often suggesting that the women drank too much and that, despite their instincts to the contrary, nothing had happened."

Sexual assaults in CIA

Reading from a statement, Raymond told the judge that he has spent countless hours contemplating his "downward spiral."

"It betrayed everything I stand for, and I know no apology will ever be enough," he said. "There are no words to describe how sorry I am. That's not who I am, and yet it's who I became."

Raymond's sentencing comes amid a reckoning on sexual misconduct at the CIA.

The Associated Press reported last week that another veteran CIA officer faces state charges in Virginia for allegedly misbehaving with a co-staffer during a drunken party in the office.

Still, another former CIA employee — an officer trainee — is scheduled to face a jury trial next month on charges he assaulted a woman with a scarf in a stairwell at the agency's Langley, Virginia, headquarters.

That case emboldened more than 24 women to come forward to authorities and Congress with accounts of their own of sexual assaults, unwanted touching and what they contend are the CIA's efforts to silence them.

And yet the full extent of sexual misconduct at the CIA remains a classified secret in the name of national security, including a recent 648-page internal watchdog report that found systemic shortcomings in the agency's handling of such complaints.

Raymond, a San Diego native and former White House intern who is fluent in Spanish and Mandarin, ultimately pleaded guilty to four of 25 federal counts, including sexual abuse, coercion and transportation of obscene material.

As part of his sentence, the judge ordered him to pay $10,000 to each of his 28 victims.

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Source: TRT