The "sexual predator" of the US Embassy was looking for his victims in Mexico City on Tinder

Brian Jeffrey Raymond, now a former employee at the United States Embassy in Mexico City, is being held in California for coercion and attempt.

Authorities suspect that the official has drugged and sexually abused at least 23 women, both in the United States and in the apartment provided by the Embassy in the Polanco neighborhood of Mexico City.

The FBI began investigations last May, when a woman was helped after crying out for help naked from Raymond's balcony.

The suspect was arrested, but thanks to his diplomatic immunity he avoided being prosecuted in Mexico.

Raymond flew to the US a day after the events.

There, the US authorities that continued the investigation found 400 photographs and videos where Raymond is allegedly seen abusing a score of unconscious women, according to the FBI criminal report.

The judge of the District Court of Southern California has described the official as a "sexual predator" and has denied him bail, so he will await his trial in a federal jail in San Diego.

Raymond has been a public worker for 23 of his 44 years.

He was transferred to the United States Embassy in Mexico City in 2018, where an apartment was provided.

He resigned from his post last May, after the incident that uncovered his private life.

On the last day of that month, Raymond was arrested outside that apartment.

The US Government has jurisdiction over homes owned by the Embassy, ​​so the Diplomatic Security Service and the FBI also went there.

The prosecutors' report details that the Mexican authorities assisted a woman who screamed from the officer's balcony naked.

The document specifies that the 29-year-old woman appeared to be deeply intoxicated, as she was unable to walk.

She was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where doctors found vaginal, anal and oral lesions, as well as several bruises all over her body.

Raymond admitted to having sex with her but insisted they were consensual.

However, the woman did not remember the sexual encounter, nor did she recall crying out for help.

Among her few memories was meeting Raymond on Tinder and drinking wine with him, as other victims later repeated.

For its part, the Secretariat of Citizen Security of Mexico (SSC) has reported that that night they were alerted by radio to the screams of a woman and they moved to the apartment located on Hipólito Taine Street, in Polanco.

The head of Embassy Security was also there.

The young woman was diagnosed with a nervous breakdown by the Red Cross, but was able to testify to SSC officials.

She told them that she was in the company of “her 46-year-old friend”, that they had drunk alcoholic beverages and that Raymond had sexually assaulted her.

At that time, Raymond identified himself as the first Secretary of the Embassy of the United States of America and explained that he lived in the place, had invited the woman and that what happened had been with her consent.

Due to his condition, the SSC officer contacted the Embassy's Diplomatic Security to report what happened.

This institution stressed to the officer that Raymond had "a red card" that accredits him not to be disturbed in person.

The SSC staff limited themselves to accompanying the victim to file a complaint with the Special Prosecutor for Sexual Crimes.

Raymond was sent to the United States the next day.

There, federal agents continued the investigation and seized his cell phone and computer, on which dating apps such as Bumble and Tinder were still in use.

Forensic examinations found that Raymond attempted to delete several files, but authorities recovered material from 2011 to date.

The images reveal that Raymond allegedly drugged several women, later verified on camera that they were passed out by raising their eyelids and abusing them while filming them.

The victims who appear in their videos do not remember the events.

One woman explained that after drinking with Raymond, she woke up to a text message from him asking if she had a hangover.

Prosecutors have reported that the victim had no idea that she had been sexually assaulted until officers showed her Raymond's videos.

The following terms were repeated in the suspect's search history: "black girl passed out," "deep sleep," "Ambien," and "Zopiden mixed with alcohol," both sleep medications.

Interviews with the other women featured in the videos are still ongoing.

Raymond's lawyer has tried to free him until the trial, alleging vulnerability to covid due to a heart condition and taking care of his sick mother.

However, Judge Linda López has denied Raymond bail, after verifying that several encounters with his victims took place in the middle of the pandemic and that he has little relationship with his family.

In addition, the Prosecutor's Office considers that Raymond, who speaks Spanish and Mandarin Chinese perfectly and has traveled to more than 60 countries, presents a flight risk.

The magistrate has described the official as an "experienced sexual predator" and has made him available to the United States Marshals Service, where he awaits his trial in a San Diego jail.

He faces 20 years in prison for the case documented in the United States, but if more victims are declared the sentence could be higher.