LA MESA (CNS) - A La Mesa man formerly employed by the U.S. government at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City pleaded guilty Friday to sexually abusing women over the course of several years, often while they were unconscious, according to the Department of Justice.
Federal prosecutors say the investigation into Brian Jeffrey Raymond, 45, was sparked after a nude woman was spotted on the balcony of his Mexico City apartment last year "screaming for help." She told investigators that she met Raymond over a dating app, but blacked out after having food and drinks that he provided, according to court documents.
A subsequent investigation revealed "hundreds of photographs and videos" depicting unconscious and nude women on Raymond's cell phones and other electronic devices, according to the Department of Justice.
A search of his Internet history turned up searches for unconscious women, as well as the side effects of prescription drugs and their potential side effects when combined with alcohol.
As part of his plea agreement, Raymond admitted to engaging in sex acts with two of the women in the recordings, which prosecutors say happened in 2020 at Raymond's embassy-leased home in Mexico City. Both women "were incapable of appraising the nature of the conduct or consenting to it," according to a DOJ statement.
He also admitted to recording and/or photographing at least 24 unconscious women between 2006 and 2020, and groping the victims while recording or photographing them, according to the plea agreement.
Raymond was arrested in La Mesa last October, and federal authorities later published a news release seeking any potential victims or information regarding the case.
He faces a potential life sentence in connection with his pleas to federal sexual abuse and transportation of obscene material charges, according to the Department of Justice, which said a sentencing date has not yet been set.
"Brian Raymond betrayed the trust granted to him as a U.S. government employee representing the United States abroad by engaging in years of predatory conduct sexually abusing, exploiting and recording vulnerable women he targeted in the United States and around the world," said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department's Criminal Division.
