Former FBI agent found guilty of rape, luring victims to Maryland tattoo shop
Eduardo Valdivia was found guilty on six counts of second-degree rape and two counts of fourth-degree sex offense, after sexually assaulting three young women at his Gaithersburg tattoo shops.
Valdivia, 41, of Gaithersburg, was arrested in November 2024 after the first victim told police in October that she was raped by someone she knew as "Lalo Brown."
At the time of his arrest, Valdivia had been a supervisory special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation for over a decade.
He owned a tattoo studio, DC Fine Line Tattoos, in the 9800 block of Washingtonian Boulevard in Gaithersburg.
In November 2024, a second victim came forward with a similar report of sexual assault, according to police.
Both women, in their early 20s, reported they were lured to the tattoo studio under the pretense of modeling opportunities with Exeter Models.
Following news of his arrest, a third victim came forward and disclosed that she had been raped by Valdivia in October 2022 at a tattoo studio in the 12000 block of Travilah Road in Potomac. She said was 18 years old at the time.
Valdivia communicated with the victims under aliases including "Lalo Brown" and "L. Boogie," luring them to the tattoo studios under the pretense of free tattoos and modeling opportunities, according to prosecutors.
He also used the alias "Dr. Tiffany Kim," pretending to be a female psychologist and the CEO, president, and producer of a profitable and well-connected modeling agency in email communications with two of the victims, the State's Attorney's Office said.
Valdivia faces a maximum sentence of 122 years in prison.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 14, 2025.
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'Rush was essentially Ocean Gate's CEO, Safety Officer, and primary submersible pilot, which enabled him to set operational safety parameters and then make all final decisions for TITAN operations without adequate input or checks and balances from the Board of Directors, the other OceanGate employees, regulators, or third-party organizations (e.g., classification societies),' the report said. 'The cumulative effect was an authoritarian and toxic culture where safety was not only deprioritized but actively suppressed. This toxic environment, characterized by retaliation and belittling against those who expressed safety concerns combined with a lack of external oversight, set the stage for the TITAN's ultimate demise.' And Rush 'made all engineering decisions independently, despite having a Director of Engineering in place,' three of OceanGate's directors of engineering told the US Coast Guard Marine Board Investigation. 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