Top CIA spy sentenced to 30 years for drugging and sexually abusing multiple women

Brian Raymond was forced to listen to his victims tell a court they were deceived by a man who appeared kind, educated and part of an agency 'that is supposed to protect the world from evil'

A top CIA spy who drugged, photographed and sexually assaulted more than two dozen women in postings around the world has been sentenced to 30 years behind bars.

Brian Raymond was forced to listen to his victims tell a court they were deceived by a man who appeared kind, educated and part of an agency "that is supposed to protect the world from evil." The CIA operative sat dejectedly as he heard his punishment for one of the most egregious misconduct cases in the agency's history. It was chronicled in his own library of more than 500 images that showed him, in some cases, straddling and groping his nude, unconscious victims.

"It's safe to say he's a sexual predator," US Senior Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said in imposing the full sentence prosecutors had requested. "You are going to have a period of time to think about this." Prosecutors said the 48-year-old's assaults date to 2006 and tracked his career in Mexico, Peru and other countries.

The court heard Raymond would lure women he met on Tinder and other dating apps to his government-leased apartment and drug them while serving wine and snacks. Once they were unconscious, he spent hours posing their naked bodies before photographing and assaulting them. He opened their eyelids at times and stuck his fingers in their mouths.

One by one, about a dozen of Raymond's victims, who were identified only by numbers in court, recounted how the longtime spy upended their lives. Some said they only learned what happened after the FBI showed them the photos of being assaulted while unconscious. "My body looks like a corpse on his bed," one victim said of the photos. "Now I have these nightmares of seeing myself dead."

One described suffering a nervous breakdown. Another spoke of a recurring trance that caused her to run red lights while driving. Many told how their confidence and trust in others had been shattered forever. "I hope he is haunted by the consequences of his actions for the rest of his life," said one of the women, who, like others, stared Raymond down as they walked away from the podium. Reading from a statement, 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." Raymond's sentencing comes amid a reckoning on sexual misconduct at the CIA. The agency has publicly condemned Raymond's crimes and 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 CIA said. "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 remained quiet about the exact nature of his work and declined to disclose a complete list of the countries where he assaulted women.