Local FBI agent indicted for allegedly sexually assaulting three women at Gaithersburg tattoo studio

Eduardo Valdivia allegedly lured women with promises of modeling opportunities

January 16, 2025 6:21 p.m.

An FBI special agent was indicted Thursday by a grand jury in the Montgomery County Circuit Court for allegedly sexually assaulting three women after promising them modeling job opportunities, according to the Office of Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.

Eduardo Valdivia, 40, of Gaithersburg was arrested by county police in Greenbelt in November. He was indicted Thursday on a total of 19 counts, including eight counts of second-degree rape, 10 counts of fourth-degree sexual offense and one count of sextortion, defined as forcing someone to “engage in an act of sexual activity by threatening to cause economic damage,” the state’s attorney’s office said Thursday afternoon in a statement.

“We were expecting the indictment and now that it is returned, the state will be obligated to provide the evidence they are relying on,” Valdivia’s attorney, Robert Bonsib, told Bethesda Today in a phone interview Thursday afternoon. “We look forward to that because we believe the charges will not be supported by credible and reliable evidence.”

- Advertisement -

Valdivia has worked for the FBI in the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore areas for more than 13 years, according to his LinkedIn profile. 

The FBI Washington Field Office said in a statement in November that Valdivia is suspended pending completion of the county police department’s investigation. The office did not immediately respond Thursday afternoon to a request for an update on Valdivia’s suspension status.

“The FBI takes allegations of criminal violations and misconduct very seriously,” the November 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.”

The arrest

Valdivia was initially arrested after two women came forward to police accusing him of rape in February and August 2024. The women had made contact with Valdivia through Instagram under a page with the name DCFineLineTattoos, county police Assistant Chief Nicholas Augustine said during a Nov. 26 press briefing. 

Sponsored
Face of the Week

Both women stated they were lured to Valdivia’s tattoo studio in the Rio area of Gaithersburg under the pretense of modeling opportunities with Exeter Models and believed they had been communicating with a woman, police said in November. They shared similar stories of allegedly being sexually assaulted by Valdivia after he presented the women with fraudulent modeling contracts.

A third woman came forward in December after seeing news reports of Valdivia’s arrest, alleging she was also raped by Valdivia in October 2022, according to charging documents. According to the documents, the woman told Valdivia at the time of the alleged rape that she was a high school student.

The woman alleges that she first made contact with Valdivia after scheduling a tattoo appointment through the DCFineLineTattoos Instagram account, according to charging documents. While Valdivia was working on her tattoo in his tattoo in August 2022, he complimented the woman’s appearance and offered to give her a free tattoo at a later date in exchange for photos of it.

She accepted Valdivia’s offer and scheduled an appointment for October 2022. At that appointment, Valdivia insisted the woman remove her clothing while he gave her the tattoo. After completing the tattoo, he sexually assaulted her, despite her insistence that she did not want to have sex, the documents said.

The indictment 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. 

- Advertisement -

Detectives believe there may be more victims and 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.

Bethesda Today reporters Ashlyn Campbell and Elia Griffin contributed to this report.

Digital Partners

Enter our essay contest