An FBI special agent arrested Monday is accused of sexually assaulting two women after offering them a free tattoo and help securing modeling jobs, Montgomery County police said Tuesday.
Eduardo Valdivia, 40, of Gaithersburg was arrested in Greenbelt and is facing charges including six counts of second-degree rape, two counts of fourth-degree sexual offense and eight counts of second-degree assault, police officials said during a press conference at department headquarters in Gaithersburg.
Valdivia, a 13-year veteran of the FBI according to his LinkedIn profile, is being held without bond at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit in Rockville. He is expected to have a bond hearing Tuesday afternoon, according to online court records. His lawyer, Robert Bonsib, told MoCo360 on Tuesday afternoon that he had no comment on Valdivia’s arrest.
The arrest comes about two years after Valdivia was acquitted of all charges related to a December 2020 shooting on a Red Line Metro train in Bethesda in which a man was injured. Valdivia, who was off duty at the time of the shooting, was charged with attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault and reckless endangerment.
The FBI Washington Field Office said Monday in a statement that Valdivia is suspended pending completion of the county police department’s investigation.
“The FBI takes allegations of criminal violations and misconduct very seriously,” the statement said. “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.”
Free tattoos and a modeling contract
The women made contact with Valdivia through Instagram under a page with the name DCFineLineTattoos, Montgomery County police Assistant Chief Nicholas Augustine said during the press briefing.
Both women stated they were lured to the tattoo studio under the pretense of modeling opportunities with Exeter Models and believed they had been communicating with a woman, police said Tuesday in a press release.
According to Augustine, the first incident occurred in February after Valdivia allegedly offered a free tattoo to one of the women in exchange for modeling the artwork. The woman went to DC Fine Line Tattoos, a tattoo studio Valdivia owned in the 9800 block of Washingtonian Boulevard in Gaithersburg.
According to Augustine, the woman met with a person named Lalo Brown, who police later identified as Valdivia. After completing the tattoo, Valdivia offered to help the woman work as a model. The woman received an email offering a test photo shoot and an interview, Augustine said. She returned to the studio at a later date and was presented with a modeling contract.
Augustine said Valdivia allegedly sexually assaulted the woman at that time, then coerced and threatened her with legal action if she didn’t comply with the contract. The woman returned for a modeling shoot roughly two weeks later at the Courtyard of Marriott in Gaithersburg because she was concerned about possible legal ramifications, he said.
The woman said she didn’t want to participate in the modeling shoot, Augustine said, but Valdivia told her that the client had already paid for the suite. During this modeling shoot, the woman was allegedly sexually assaulted again, Augustine said.
A second woman came forward who had a similar experience in August and who also was first introduced to Valdivia through the tattoo studio’s Instagram account. The second woman also received a tattoo and was told about a modeling opportunity, Augustine said. The woman received an email offering a modeling shoot and telling her she would meet with a photographer named El Boogie.
When the woman arrived, she found she was meeting with Valdivia, who had a modeling contract for her to sign, according to Augustine. The woman told Valdivia that she didn’t want to do anything sexual in nature. She then was allegedly sexually assaulted by Valdivia, Augustine said.
The first woman reported the sexual assault in October 2024. The second woman came forward with a similar report of sexual assault in November.
Augustine said county police believe there may be other women who were allegedly sexually assaulted by Valdivia and officials are encouraging them to come forward.
“We just have the two victims at this time,” Augustine said. “We want to ensure if there is [more] that they do come forward because in these two instances these victims felt like they were held back because they signed a contract to do this type of work.”
According to the police press release, detectives are urging anyone with information or who may have been allegedly victimized by Valdivia to contact the Special Victims Investigations Division at 240-773-5400.
Valdivia has worked for the FBI in the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore area for more than 13 years, according to his LinkedIn profile.
MoCo360 reporter Elia Griffin contributed to this report.
