The FBI seeks more victims of the alleged “sexual predator” from the US Embassy in Mexico City

The FBI continues to search for more clues in the case of Brian Jeffrey Raymond, the worker at the US Embassy in Mexico City suspected of raping several women in his diplomatic apartment. Authorities have released photographs of Raymond and have called on citizens in both Mexico and the United States to gather more information on possible victims. The suspect is in custody for alleged sexual crimes and the charges hearing, which was scheduled for last Wednesday, has been postponed to February 22 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The judge of the District Court of Southern California has classified the official as a “sexual predator” and has denied him bail, so he will await his trial without yet a specific date in a cell.

Raymond is suspected of abusing at least 23 women while they were unconscious. The Embassy worker found them on Tinder, invited them to drink, and they woke up with no memories the next day with signs of sexual abuse. The diplomat’s secret life came to light in May last year, when a woman asked for help naked from the balcony of the residence provided by the US Government in the Polanco neighborhood. The victim, who is identified in police reports as AV-1, alerted Mexican authorities. Raymond was detained by the Secretariat of Citizen Security, but due to his condition as an employee of the Embassy, ​​Diplomatic Security stressed to the Mexican agents that Raymond had “a red card”, a document that accredits him not to be disturbed.

Urinalysis and medical examinations of AV-1 later revealed that he had lacerations to his genitals and the inside of his cheeks, as well as bruises and signs of sexual assault. There was also a high amount of alcohol in his blood, cocaine, and amphetamine. However, the victim stressed that she is not a drug user and that she does not remember the night with Raymond. The FBI initiated the investigations and when Raymond left his post because of the scandal and flew to the United States, they seized his laptop. His team’s search history repeated the same words: “black girl passed out,” “deep sleep,” “Ambien,” and “Zolpiden mixed with alcohol,” the latter two referring to sleeping medications. Along with the searches, there were 478 videos of unconscious women allegedly being abused by Raymond.

One of those files showed victim AV-7, a resident of Mexico. A total of 77 videos correspond to her on May 30 in a room that coincides with the bedroom of the Embassy’s apartment and Raymond’s sheets. The woman was identified and interviewed by the FBI. She remembers having an encounter with the suspect and kissing him, but she doesn’t know how she woke up without clothes on her bed. The photos and files show Raymond exposing the naked girl in the center of the image and touching her, something she claims she never consented to. What he does remember is throwing up that night.

Another 35 files showed AV-5, another Mexican victim, on May 17 in the same apartment. Raymond appears in the videos opening her eyelids and mouth while the woman does not respond. Authorities managed to locate AV-5, who told them that he also vomited while with his attacker and that he has gaps in his memory of the night. When the officers showed her the videos, she claimed that she did not consent to his touching her.

In addition, there are two more Mexican victims: AV-6 and AV-9. The two were also located after being identified in Raymond’s files. He modus operandi It is the same: a date on Tinder that ends with an encounter in the diplomatic apartment of which they later remember nothing. Despite AV-6 acknowledging that the sexual relations were consensual, it did not give its permission to be drugged or recorded by Raymond afterwards. Both victims were unaware of the videos and photos. The FBI assures that there are more files of other victims suffering abuse in the apartment of the American Embassy, ​​at least in the case of AV-8, AV-10, AV-11 and AV-12 women.

Meanwhile, the authorities Directed by Special Agent Erin Sheridan The FBI’s Washington Violent Crimes Department continues to search for more victims. It is known that at least one of them is American, a California resident identified as AV-2, who traveled from San Diego to Mexico City to pay a visit to Raymond in November 2018. When interviewed, the victim assured that there was only seen Raymond twice. The files where it appears follow the same pattern that the attacker used with the other victims.

Sheridan, who has worked for the FBI for more than 20 years and specializes in serial sex crimes or old cases, has asked citizens to provide any information they have on the suspect. Agents have distributed a questionnaire in which victims can identify if they have suffered any abuse, both in Mexico and the United States or even in Peru, where the suspect worked before being sent to Mexico City.