FBI agent charged with rape and sexual assault 2 years after DC Metro shooting acquittal

By Lex Harvey, Kia Fatahi, Rashard Rose and Amanda Musa, CNN

(CNN) — An FBI special agent is facing charges of rape and assault involving two women in Maryland, according to police in Montgomery County, two years after a state jury acquitted him after he shot and wounded a passenger on a Washington, DC-area Metro train.

Eduardo Valdivia, 40, faces 10 felony and misdemeanor charges, including second-degree rape and second-degree assault, for acts that began in February, Assistant Chief of Police Nicholas Augustine said during a news conference Tuesday morning.

Valdivia contacted the victims – two women in their 20s – via an Instagram page using a different name and invited them to a tattoo parlor, where he offered them tattoos and help getting modeling deals, Augustine said. The women did not know Valdivia was an FBI agent, he added.

Valdivia was arrested Monday on sexual assault charges, his defense attorney, Robert Bonsib, confirmed to the Associated Press.

“We don’t accept at first blush any of the allegations until all of the evidence is in,” said Bonsib, who declined CNN’s request for comment Tuesday morning.

Valdivia remains in custody without bond following a bail hearing on Tuesday, during which a judge noted he was a danger to the community and a flight risk. Valdivia’s next court date is December 20 in Montgomery County, court records show.

The charges come nearly two years after a Maryland Jury found Valdivia not guilty of attempted murder and other related charges after he shot and wounded a passenger on a Washington, DC-area Metro train in December 2020.

In the latest case, Valdivia met one of the victims at a tattoo studio located in Gaithersburg, where he lived, according to police. Valdivia leased the space where the tattoo shop was located, police said, adding no tattoo license is registered to that location.

“One of the women was offered a free tattoo in exchange to model the artwork,” Augustine said.

“After the tattoo was complete, Valdivia offered to help the victim get work as a model,” Augustine said.

The woman later received an email offering her the opportunity to do a test photoshoot and returned to the tattoo studio on a different date, according to Augustine. During the photoshoot, she was presented with a modeling contract and then sexually assaulted by Valdivia, Augustine said.

“The victim was coerced and threatened with legal action if she did not return to comply with the contract,” he said. Worried about potential legal consequences, the woman agreed to meet with Valdivia again two weeks later for a modeling shoot at a local hotel, where she was sexually assaulted a second time.

The second victim met Valdivia in a similar way, Augustine said. The woman received a tattoo from Valdivia before being offered a photo shoot opportunity and a contract to sign, he added.

“During this photo shoot, this victim was sexually assaulted,” Augustine said.

“Detectives from the Special Victims Investigations Division believe there may be additional victims,” police said in a statement this week.

It is unclear whether Valdivia was working as an FBI agent during these alleged crimes, Augustine said. However, the incidents occurred late at night on weekdays and during weekend hours.

The women are both 21 years old, according to Bonsib, and made the voluntary decision to go to Valdivia’s tattoo shop, describing the visits as “consensual” during the bail hearing.

Valdivia has been suspended from the FBI pending a police investigation, a spokesperson for the bureau’s Washington field office told CNN. Valdivia has been with the FBI since 2011, Bonsib said Tuesday.

“The FBI takes allegations of criminal violations and misconduct very seriously,” the field office said in a statement. “We are aware of the matter involving the recent arrest of an FBI employee and are fully cooperating with the Montgomery County Police Department.

The FBI declined to comment further on the case.

In the 2020 incident, Valdivia was on his way to work when he allegedly got into a verbal exchange with a man while on a Red Line train and shot him. Bonsib argued it was self-defense, and Valdivia was acquitted of all charges.

Investigators with the Metro Transit Police said video footage of the incident showed an adult male approaching Valdivia as the Metrorail car neared Medical Center Station in Bethesda, Maryland. Words were exchanged and Valdivia discharged his weapon several times, the Metro Transit Police said.

The other passenger asked Valdivia for money and when Valdivia said that he didn’t have any, the man walked away spewing expletives, prosecutors said in court. Valdivia told the man to watch his mouth. The FBI agent’s response caused the other passenger to turn back around and get into Valdivia’s face before two shots were fired, prosecutors said.

CNN’s Josh Campbell contributed to this report.

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