Former CIA officer sentenced to decades behind bars for years of sex crimes committed overseas

WASHINGTON, D.C - A former Central Intelligence Agency officer has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for a pervasive series of sex crimes committed while serving overseas.

Brian Jeffrey Raymond, 48, was sentenced during a Wednesday hearing in a Washington, D.C U.S District Court. The La Mesa, California native plead guilty in a November hearing to one count each of sexual abuse, abusive sexual contact, transportation of obscene material, and coercion and enticement.

The Department of Justice described Raymond has having committed the sex crimes against 28 different women, many of whom he victimized while stationed in Mexico City in an official U.S government capacity. Raymond admitted to drugging and illictly photographing his more than two dozen victims as a condition of a plea deal he was offered by federal prosecutors, according to NBC News.

Raymond met victims on dating apps such as Tinder before inviting them to his residence. The offenses, which increased in frequency in the final years of Raymond's career, only came to an end when a naked woman was seen screaming for help from Raymond's apartment balcony in 2020, according to CBS News.

U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves pointed to Raymond's sentence as one that would hold him accountable for the duration of his life in a statement after the sentencing.
 

“When this predator was a government employee, he lured unsuspecting women to his government-leased housing and drugged them. After drugging these women, he stripped, sexually abused, and photographed them. Today’s 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.”

Federal prosecutors cited assistance they recieved from Mexican government officials and law enforcement in securing Raymond's conviction. Raymond's crimes spanned across multiple countries.

Raymond will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from federal prison, and will owe $260,000 in restitution to his victims. The former CIA agent attested to feelings of remorse in his sentencing hearing.

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

The CIA touted its own commitment to cooperation with law enforcement in a statement provided to NBC.

"There is absolutely no excuse for Mr. Raymond’s reprehensible, appalling behavior. As this case shows, we are committed to engaging with law enforcement."