FBI agent charged with rape and sexual assault two years after DC Metro shooting acquittal
The logo of the Federal Bureau of Investigation building is seen on May 14
By Lex Harvey, Kia Fatahi and Rashard Rose, CNN
(CNN) — An FBI special agent who was acquitted of attempted murder in a DC Metro shooting has been charged with raping and assaulting two women in Maryland, police said Monday.
Eduardo Valdivia, 40, has been suspended from the FBI pending a police investigation, a spokesperson for the bureau’s Washington field office told CNN.
“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. Because this is an ongoing investigation, the FBI cannot comment further.”
Valdivia faces 10 felony and misdemeanor charges, including second-degree rape and second-degree assault, for acts which allegedly occurred in May and September of this year, court records show.
The Montgomery County Police Department confirmed Valdivia is in custody and is accused of sexually assaulting two women.
“Detectives from the Special Victims Investigations Division believe there may be additional victims,” police said in a statement, adding they would hold a news conference Tuesday to encourage more people to come forward.
The charges come almost two years after Valdivia was found not guilty of attempted murder and other related charges by a Maryland jury after he shot and wounded a passenger on a Washington, DC-area Metro train in December 2020.
In that 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. Robert Bonsib, Valdivia’s defense attorney, argued it was self-defense, and Valdivia was acquitted of all charges.
Bonsib confirmed to the Associated Press that his client was arrested Monday on sexual assault charges.
“We don’t accept at first blush any of the allegations until all of the evidence is in,” Bonsib said.
CNN has reached out to Bonsib for comment.
Valdivia is set to appear in Montgomery District Court on Tuesday for a bail hearing, according to court records.
The-CNN-Wire
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