Veteran CIA officer who drugged and sexually assaulted dozens of women gets 30 years in prison

Jim Mustian and Joshua Goodman, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A longtime CIA serviceman who drugged, photographed and sexually assaulted much than 2 twelve women successful postings astir nan world was sentenced to 30 years successful national situation Wednesday aft an affectional proceeding successful which victims described being deceived by a man who appeared kind, knowledgeable and portion of an agency “that is expected to protect nan world from evil.”

Brian Jeffrey Raymond, pinch a graying beard and orangish situation jumpsuit, sat dejectedly arsenic he heard his reward for 1 of nan astir egregious misconduct cases successful nan CIA’s history. It was chronicled successful his ain room of much than 500 images that showed him successful immoderate cases straddling and groping his nude, unconscious victims.

“It’s safe to opportunity he’s a intersexual predator,” U.S. Senior Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said successful imposing nan afloat condemnation prosecutors had requested. “You are going to person a play of clip to deliberation astir this.”

Prosecutors opportunity nan 48-year-old Raymond’s assaults day to 2006 and tracked his profession successful Mexico, Peru and different countries, each pursuing a akin pattern:

He would lure women he met connected Tinder and different making love apps to his government-leased flat and supplier them while serving vino and snacks. Once they were unconscious, he spent hours posing their naked bodies earlier photographing and assaulting them. He opened their eyelids astatine times and stuck his fingers successful their mouths.

One by one, astir a twelve of Raymond’s victims who were identified only by numbers successful tribunal recounted really nan longtime spy upended their lives. Some said they only learned what happened aft nan FBI showed them nan photos of being assaulted while unconscious.

RELATED | Ex-CIA serviceman pleads blameworthy to drugging, sexually abusing aggregate women during overseas posts

“My assemblage looks for illustration a corpse connected his bed,” 1 unfortunate said of nan photos. “Now I person these nightmares of seeing myself dead.”

One described suffering a tense breakdown. Another said of a recurring trance that caused her to tally reddish lights while driving. Many told really their assurance and spot successful others had been shattered forever.

“I dream he is haunted by nan consequences of his actions for nan remainder of his life,” said 1 of nan women, who for illustration others stared Raymond down arsenic they walked distant from nan podium.

Reading from a statement, Raymond told nan judge that he has spent countless hours contemplating his “downward spiral.”

“It betrayed everything I guidelines for and I cognize nary apology will ever beryllium enough,” he said. “There are nary words to picture really sorry I am. That’s not who I americium and yet it’s who I became.”

Raymond’s sentencing comes amid a reckoning connected intersexual misconduct astatine nan CIA. The Associated Press reported past week that different seasoned CIA serviceman faces authorities charges successful Virginia for allegedly reaching up a co-worker’s skirt and forcibly kissing her during a drunken statement successful nan office.

Still different erstwhile CIA worker — an serviceman trainee — is scheduled to look a assemblage proceedings adjacent period connected charges he assaulted a female pinch a scarf successful a stairwell astatine nan agency’s Langley, Virginia, headquarters. That lawsuit emboldened immoderate 2 twelve women to travel guardant to authorities and Congress pinch accounts of their ain of intersexual assaults, unwanted rubbing and what they contend are nan CIA’s efforts to soundlessness them.

And yet nan afloat grade of intersexual misconduct astatine nan CIA remains a classified concealed successful nan sanction of nationalist security, including a caller 648-page soul watchdog study that recovered systemic shortcomings successful nan agency’s handling of specified complaints.

“The classified quality of nan activities allowed nan agency to hide a batch of things,” said Liza Mundy, writer of “Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women astatine nan CIA.” The male-dominated agency, she said, has agelong been a refuge for egregious intersexual misconduct. “For decades, men astatine nan apical had free rein.”

CIA has publically condemned Raymond’s crimes and implemented sweeping reforms intended to support women safe, streamline claims and much quickly subject offenders.

But a veil of secrecy still surrounds nan Raymond lawsuit astir 4 years aft his arrest. Even aft Raymond pleaded blameworthy precocious past year, prosecutors person tiptoed astir nan nonstop quality of his activity and declined to disclose a complete database of nan countries wherever he assaulted women.

Still, they offered an unbridled relationship of Raymond’s conduct, describing him arsenic a “serial offender” whose assaults accrued complete clip and go “almost frenetic” during his last CIA posting successful Mexico City, wherever he was discovered successful 2020 aft a naked female screamed for thief from his flat balcony.

U.S. officials scoured Raymond’s physics devices and began identifying nan victims he had listed by sanction and beingness characteristics, each of whom described experiencing immoderate shape of representation nonaccomplishment during their clip pinch him.

One unfortunate said Raymond seemed for illustration a “perfect gentleman” erstwhile they met successful Mexico successful 2020, recalling only that they kissed. Unbeknownst to nan woman, aft she blacked out, he took 35 videos and close-up photos of her breasts and genitals.

“The defendant’s manipulation often resulted successful women blaming themselves for losing consciousness, emotion ashamed, and apologizing to nan defendant,” prosecutors wrote successful a tribunal filing. “He was much than consenting to gaslight nan women, often suggesting that nan women drank excessively overmuch and that, contempt their instincts to nan contrary, thing had happened.”

Raymond, a San Diego autochthonal and erstwhile White House intern who is fluent successful Spanish and Mandarin, yet pleaded blameworthy to 4 of 25 national counts including intersexual abuse, coercion and proscription of obscene material. As portion of his sentence, nan judge ordered him to salary $10,000 to each of his 28 victims.

Raymond’s attorneys had sought leniency, contending his “quasi-military” activity astatine nan CIA successful nan years pursuing 9/11 became a breeding crushed for nan affectional callousness and “objectification of different people” that enabled his years of preying upon women.

“While he was moving tirelessly astatine his authorities job, he ignored his ain request for help, and complete clip he began to isolate himself, detach himself from quality feelings and go emotionally numb,” defense lawyer Howard Katzoff wrote successful a tribunal filing.

“He was an invaluable authorities worker, but it took its toll connected him and sent him down a acheronian path.”