An FBI has been charged with multiple counts of sexual assault for two years. It was confirmed that before the recent charges, the suspect was released of attempted murder.
According to a Tuesday statement from the Montgomery County Police Department on Tuesday, it was noted that Eduardo Valdivia, 40, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, was charged with two counts of second-degree rape, four counts of fourth-degree sexual offense and four counts of second-degree assault.
It was discussed that two women allege they were raped inside a tattoo studio, and police say Valdivia may have additional victims.
Police state the two women were raped inside DC Fine Line Tattoos, a studio on Washingtonian Boulevard in Gaithersburg, operated by Valivida under an alias.
The first woman said she was raped in October by a man named “Lalo Brown.” A second woman came forward this month with a similar report of sexual assault, police said.
During a news conference on Tuesday, police say Valdivia was luring victims online through an Instagram page devoted to a tattoo business operated by him under the alias Lalo Brown.
The first woman was offered a free tattoo in exchange for modelling artwork, the police stated. It was further explained that when she returned to the studio a second time for a photo shoot and a modelling contract, that’s when Valdivia sexually assaulted her, police said.
The police also noted that After the first assault, police say the woman was coerced and threatened with legal action if she did not return to comply with the contract. The woman returned for a second shoot at a nearby hotel and was again sexually assaulted by Valdivia.
Valdivia met the second alleged victim through the same Instagram account, and police said other women on the tattoo shop’s social media page could be additional victims.
Montgomery County Police Department Assistant Chief Nicholas Augustine said investigators are concerned some women may not come forward because they signed contracts.
“We want the community to know that no matter if you sign a contract, that does not allow for you to be sexually assaulted,” he said during the media briefing.
Valdivia’s alleged victims said they believed they had been communicating with a woman before they met him. Both women positively identified Valdivia as their assailant, police said.
Valdivia was being held at the Montgomery County Detention Center on Tuesday afternoon without bond, a jail representative said. His attorney was not immediately reached for comment.
The FBI Washington office confirmed in a statement that the agency is cooperating with Montgomery police in their investigation of Valdivia. It was further noted that he has been suspended pending the police investigation
The statement further noted that the FBI takes the allegations of criminal violations and misconduct very seriously. The statement noted that the agency was aware of the matter involving the recent arrest of an FBI employee and is fully cooperating with the Montgomery County Police Department. Because this is an ongoing investigation, the FBI cannot comment further.
It was learnt that in late 2022, a Montgomery jury found Valdivia not guilty on multiple charges including attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault and reckless endangerment in the shooting of a man on a Metro train in Bethesda, Maryland, in December. 15, 2020.
It was noted that Valdivia who was off duty on the date of the event had claimed self-defense.
Valdivia shot the man from 2 to 3 feet away, prosecutors stated and did not identify himself as an agent until after the shooting. The man had part or all of his spleen, colon and pancreas removed during surgery after the shooting, the news outlet reported.
The Judgement of the prosecutor was based on the video which included the interaction of Valdivia and the man.
According to reports, in a video of the shooting used by prosecutors in the trial, the interaction between the two men starts with a fist bump. But when the man asked Valdivia for money on the train, the agent said no and the man muttered expletives while walking away, prosecutors stated.
It was revealed that Valdivia had told the man, to watch his mouth, and the man turned around and approached Valdivia, who told him to back up multiple times before the shooting.
