‘License to Rape’: The Seamy Side of a Spy

FBI and Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) investigators also responded. Their efforts revealed–shockingly– that Raymond was a serial predator who drugged at least 28 women in five countries between 2006 and 2020. His victims included long-time friends and women he met on dating apps.

For the past four years, Raymond has sat in a prison cell, awaiting the final resolution of his case. The 48-year-old government employee pled guilty on Nov. 7, 2023 – the day before his jury trial was set to begin – to one count each of sexual abuse, abusive sexual contact, transportation of obscene material and coercion.

Almost a year later, he was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for “drugging and sexually abusing numerous women in multiple countries, including photographing and video recording more than two dozen nude and partially nude women without their consent while they were unconscious or incapable of consenting,” as the Justice Department reported in a press release.

Raymond was also ordered to pay $10,000 to each of his victims in restitution and, after release, be under supervised release and a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.

Once Upon a Time in Mexico

Raymond’s campaign of terror against women began to unravel when Mexico City police responded on May 31, 2020, after witnesses reported a “naked, hysterical woman screaming for help” on an apartment balcony. That apartment turned out to be a U.S. Embassy-leased apartment occupied by federal government employee Brian Raymond.

Since Raymond occupied Embassy-leased housing, local elements of the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) began a parallel investigation. DSS personnel arrived soon after police, according to a federal affidavit.

Later, the FBI would join the investigation, obtaining warrants for Raymond’s electronic devices.
By the time the American investigation was completed, investigators had identified over two dozen victims and recovered over 500 sexually explicit images and videos of nude and semi-nude women, according to the FBI’s affidavit. Many of these depict the women’s breasts, vaginas and buttocks. Some of them feature a nude Raymond or his hands and erect penis touching the women.

The Woman’s Injuries

An ambulance took the woman from Raymond’s apartment to the hospital for treatment. She’d suffered injuries to her vagina, perineum and anus, along with bruises on her forearm, elbow and knee and a laceration inside her cheek.

To protect her privacy and distinguish her from other victims, court documents refer to her as Adult Victim 1 (AV-1).

As the case unfolded, investigators would label 27 more “adult victims,” suspecting that more remain unknown to this day

Raymond’s Claims

Raymond told investigators he initially matched with AV-1 on Tinder, a dating app. They met at an outdoor shopping area. He brought a backpack with supplies. They drank wine during their date, but AV-1 later told investigators she didn’t see Raymond pouring it into the cups.

They walked back to Raymond’s apartment. AV-1 told investigators she ate some light snacks and drank a glass of wine that Raymond handed her. Again, she did not see him pouring the drinks.

AV-1 doesn’t remember what happened after that, having blacked out. But she did tell investigators she did not consent to having sex or remember being on the balcony screaming for help.

Raymond told investigators the sex was consensual and that during sex, AV-1 “suddenly and inexplicably started screaming and ran out to the balcony,” the affidavit states.

Dozens of Women

The discovery of AV-1 was just the beginning. From the images on Raymond’s electronic devices, investigators began to piece together a long history of sexual abuse by Raymond that included dozens of victims.

The FBI’s chart of Raymond’s victims, contained in a May 28, 2021 motion, begins on April 21, 2006, and ends on May 31, 2020, with the discovery of his most recent victim, the one who was found screaming on his balcony in Mexico City. The attacks occurred in the U.S. and at least four other countries.

That timeline includes a total of 28 victims but also contains two gaps, totaling eight years, in which there were no identified victims. The first lasted from November 2007 through October 2013, and the second from December 2013 to November 2015. Raymond’s whereabouts during those timeframes were not mentioned in court documents.

An Evil ‘James Bond’

The CIA has not released many details about Raymond’s role with the CIA.

Raymond began working for the government in 1999 and received numerous commendations, according to court documents. The FBI noted he speaks Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. His defense attorney mentions in a motion concerning sentencing that Raymond served the nation in dangerous places following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Admitted To Victimizing 28 Women

The DOJ’s press release states that as part of the plea agreement, Raymond admitted drugging and engaging in nonconsensual sexual acts with four women, nonconsensual sexual contact with six women, drugging and creating obscene material depicting 28 women without their knowledge or permission and drugging two other women.

In their pre-sentence motion, Raymond’s attorneys said he “acknowledged and accepted responsibility for the nature and circumstances of the offense conduct. He also acknowledged that a significant prison term is warranted for his misconduct, agreeing to a sentencing range of 24 to 30 years. He recognizes that his conduct was reprehensible and shameful. Moreover, in resolving the case he wanted to make sure that the victims were not put through a trial in this case.”

‘Not Who I am … Who I Became’

In court, Raymond expressed remorse at what even his attorneys called “reprehensible” conduct.

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

U.S. Senior Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly minced no words when passing sentence on Sept. 18.
“It’s safe to say he’s a sexual predator,” the judge said, as reported by the Washington Times coverage of the proceeding. “You are going to have a period of time to think about this.”

Thirty years in prison plus a lifetime of supervised release.

Reactions by Investigators and Prosecutors

As expected, investigators and prosecutors involved in the case reacted well to the 30-year verdict.
“When this predator was a government employee, he lured unsuspecting women to his government-leased housing and drugged them,” U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves said. “After drugging these women, he stripped, sexually abused, and photographed them.”

Graves said the sentence “ensures that the defendant will be properly marked as a sex offender for life, and he will spend a substantial portion of the rest of his life behind bars.”

“Brian Raymond sexually exploited dozens of women over the course of 14 years, including while he served abroad as a U.S. government employee,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri said. Argienteri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said the sentence “underscores the Criminal Division’s commitment to prosecuting sexual abuse in violation of federal law — no matter where those violations occur or who commits them.”

Diplomatic Security Service Director Carlos F. Matus said the cooperative effort with “law enforcement partners here and abroad” demonstrates the ability of the DSS “to serve as a bridge between U.S. and foreign law enforcement counterparts to assist in bringing those who commit such heinous crimes to justice.”

“For 14 years, Raymond exploited his trusted position as a U.S. government representative to lure women into his confidence,” Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg said. “He then drugged and sexually assaulted them and took explicit photos and videos of them without their consent.

“The FBI thanks the brave women who shared information that furthered this investigation,” Sundberg continued. “We recognize our domestic and foreign law enforcement partners who helped bring Raymond to justice for his reprehensible crimes.”

Lingering Questions

Questions about Raymond’s predatory practices remain. For instance, did 28-year-old Raymond have these sinister proclivities when he was recruited and hired by the CIA? If so, why weren’t they detected during his hiring process, presumably including rigorous background checks and psychological vetting? And how can the hiring process be improved so this never happens again?

His attorneys claim his covert assignments resulted in PTSD and led him into the dark, depraved world exposed by federal investigators. In reality, we’ll never know if that is the case.

Whatever the case, PTSD must never be accepted as an excuse for rape.

Are There More?

Unfortunately, Raymond didn’t come under law enforcement scrutiny until after he had victimized dozens of women.

The FBI is not certain that all of Raymond’s victims have been identified. There are significant gaps in the predator’s photographic and video history. The FBI has issued an appeal for information.

If you or someone you know could be a victim or witness in this case, fill out the FBI form on the above-linked site.

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From Victims to Victors

TV crime series and movies have conditioned us to see the police investigators, the determined prosecutor and the crusading defense attorney as the heroes in the judicial system. For certain, their commitment to their part of the justice system is what makes ours – flawed like all human creations – the best court system in the world.

However, there are many other heroes – or heroines — in this case. They are the 28 women who were brave enough to overcome their feelings of shame and justified anger to assist investigators in building the case against Raymond.

Their courage put a predator in prison and turned them from victims to victors.