Police say an FBI agent sexually assaulted two women after promising them free tattoos and modeling work

GAITHERSBURG, Md. – An FBI agent accused in Maryland of sexually assaulting two women contacted his alleged victims on social media, promising to provide them with free tattoos and modeling work, police said Tuesday, encouraging other potential victims to come forward .

Neither woman knew their alleged attacker, Eduardo Valdivia, was an FBI agent, Montgomery County Deputy Police Chief Nicholas Augustine said during a news conference.

According to police, Valdivia used aliases, including Lalo Brown, when contacting women through an Instagram account for a tattoo parlor in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Police say Valdivia sexually assaulted women in their 20s during photo sessions at a tattoo studio and hotel.

Valdivia presented the women with modeling contracts and threatened legal action if they did not return to model for him, Augustine said. According to the deputy police chief, detectives suspect that Valdivia may have committed sexual assault under similar circumstances.

“I would like to thank the victims who came forward. They have now broken that connection in our community and bravely come forward and reported to the police what was happening, which has most likely protected others from victimization,” Augustine said.

Valdivia has been suspended by the FBI pending the conclusion of the police investigation. “The FBI takes allegations of criminal violations and misconduct very seriously,” an FBI spokesman said in a statement Monday. “Because the investigation is ongoing, the FBI is unable to provide further comment.”

Valdivia, 40, of Gaithersburg, was previously charged and acquitted in 2022 of attempted second-degree murder and other charges stemming from the off-duty shooting on a moving subway train near Washington, D.C.

Online court records show Valdivia now faces felony and misdemeanor charges, including two counts of second-degree rape. The alleged offenses date back to May 2024 and September 2024.

Attorney Robert Bonsib, who represented Valdivia in the shooting case, confirmed that his client was arrested Monday on sexual assault charges.

“At first glance we do not accept any of the allegations until all the evidence is gathered,” Bonsib said on Monday.

Police launched an investigation in October. Augustine stated that women were initially reluctant to come forward because they felt “held back” by the language in the contracts they signed for modeling jobs.

“We don’t know how long the company has been in business, but it has been tattooing since at least February,” Augustine said.

Bonsib said Valdivia was taken into custody after her initial hearing on Monday. A bond hearing is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.

Bonsib said Valdivia joined the FBI in 2011 and was promoted to supervisory special agent at FBI headquarters in 2019.

On December 15, 2020, a confrontation between Valdivia and an unarmed passenger quickly escalated from a heated exchange of words into a shooting on a train approaching the Medical Center station in Bethesda, Maryland.

Valdivia shot and wounded the man from about 2 to 3 feet (0.6 to 0.9 meters) away after repeatedly telling the man to back up, District Attorney Robert Hill said in court. Hill said the wounded man had some or all of his spleen, colon and pancreas removed during surgery after the shooting.

Bonsib said Valdivia acted in self-defense when the man approached him from the back of the wagon.

“The law doesn’t require you to wait for a strike before you take action. If there had been a direct fight and a fight over Agent Valdivia’s gun, only God knows what could have happened,” Bonsib said after Valdivia’s arraignment.