A longtime CIA officer who drugged, photographed and sexually assaulted nearly 30 women across the world has been jailed for 30 years.
A US federal court heard how Brian Jeffrey Raymond posed as a “perfect gentleman” on dating apps such as Tinder to lure women back to his Government-leased apartments before drugging and sexually assaulting them.
When his victims were unconscious, he photographed and sexually assaulted his victims’ naked bodies, with prosecutors alleging a spree of offending that went back as far as 2006.
The offending took place alongside his CIA postings in countries such as Mexico and Peru.
Sentencing, US Senior Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said: “It's safe to say he's a sexual predator. You are going to have a period of time to think about this."
Some victims only learned of Raymond’s sick offending when shown photos by the FBI of them being assaulted while unconscious.
"My body looks like a corpse on his bed," one victim said of the photos in court. "Now I have these nightmares of seeing myself dead."
"I hope he is haunted by the consequences of his actions for the rest of his life," said another of the women.
Reading from a statement in mitigation, 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."
It comes amid a spate of reports of sexual misconduct within the CIA, the US foreign intelligence agency.
Another veteran CIA officer faces state charges in Virginia for allegedly reaching up a co-worker's skirt and forcibly kissing her during a drunken party in the office.
Meanwhile 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 Virginia.
The CIA has publicly condemned Raymond's crimes and said it has implemented sweeping reforms intended to keep women safe, streamline claims and more quickly discipline offenders.
"There is absolutely no excuse for Mr. Raymond's reprehensible, appalling behaviour," the agency said Wednesday. "As this case shows, we are committed to engaging with law enforcement."
But a veil of secrecy still surrounds the Raymond case nearly four years after his arrest.
Even after Raymond pleaded guilty late last year, prosecutors have tiptoed around the exact nature of his work and declined to disclose a complete list of the countries where he assaulted women.
Raymond, a San Diego native and former White House intern who is fluent in Spanish and Mandarin, pleaded guilty to four of 25 federal counts including sexual abuse, coercion and transportation of obscene material.
As part of his sentence, the judge also ordered him to pay $10,000 (£7,553) to each of his 28 victims.
