An FBI agent was arrested for alleged sexual assault of at least two women, police in Maryland said on Nov. 26.
The agent, Eduardo Valdivia, lives in Gaithersburg, where he also owns a tattoo studio. According to two women who spoke to police, Valdivia raped them inside the studio after they were lured there with promises of modeling opportunities in messages they thought came from a woman.
Montgomery County Department of Police Assistant Chief Nicholas Augustine told reporters in a press conference that one of the women went to the studio in August to get a free tattoo in exchange for modeling. The woman met a man who went by the name of Lalo Brown.
The woman got a tattoo and returned to the studio later for a test photography shoot and interview. That was when she was sexually assaulted, she said.
The woman, who said she was under threat of legal action if she did not comply with a contract that had been presented to her, met with the same man about two weeks later in the courtyard of a hotel. She said she did not want to go through with modeling, but the man said the client had already paid for a suite for the shoot. The woman was sexually assaulted again, Augustine said.
The other woman said she was contacted in February about a modeling opportunity. She was told the photographer went by the name El Boogie. After she arrived for the shoot, she met a man who sexually assaulted her, according to police.
An investigation found that Valdivia, 40, committed both assaults, law enforcement officials said.
Police are asking any other women who may have interacted with Valdivia, whether they were assaulted or not, to come forward. They can contact the police at (240) 773-5400.
“We want the community to know that no matter if you sign a contract, that does not allow for you to be sexually assaulted,” Augustine said. “And we want the victims to come forward, whether they sign, someone says confidentiality, or anything like that, to come forward, tell us about it, so we can help them and provide closure to them.”
The women, who are both in their 20s, did not know that Valdivia was an FBI agent, authorities said.
Valdivia, who was hit with charges including two counts of second-degree rape, could not be reached.
An FBI spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email: “The FBI takes allegations of criminal violations and misconduct very seriously. We are aware of the matter involving the recent arrest of an FBI employee and are fully cooperating with the Montgomery County Police Department. Because this is an ongoing investigation, the FBI cannot comment further. Regarding the employment of Eduardo Valdivia, he is currently suspended pending the conclusion of the Montgomery County Police Department investigation.”
