A new report by the House committee that oversees the CIA says there has been “little to no accountability or punishment” for perpetrators of sexual assault and harassment who work for the spy agency.
The House Intelligence Committee released an interim report on Monday revealing the findings of an investigation that began when a whistleblower from the CIA approached the committee alleging that “they had been physically attacked and sexually assaulted” at CIA headquarters by another CIA officer.
According to the report, a total of 26 whistleblowers, who gave accounts of their own experiences with sexual assault and sexual harassment at the CIA, were interviewed in the weeks that followed. The committee also examined over 4,000 pages of records, interviewed CIA staff, and consulted with experts as it probed the allegations.
The committee concluded that the “CIA failed to handle allegations of sexual assault and harassment within its workforce in the professional and uniform manner that such sensitive allegations warrant.”
Among the eight findings of the investigation:
“There was confusion and disorder in the process for reporting sexual assault and harassment.”
“Victims were aware of little to no accountability or punishment for the perpetrators of the assaults or harassment often because of an inadequate investigatory process.”
“Victims were deterred from coming forward because victims did not have anonymity and were unable to seek confidential assistance.”
“The Office of Equal Employment Opportunity had internal issues that rendered it unable to effectively engage in response efforts.”
According to the report, many officers at the agency were aware of the breadth of the problem, but the agency failed to act.
The report comes on the heels of two sexual assault cases involving CIA employees that recently became public. Last fall, a woman training to be a spy said she was sexually assaulted in the stairwell at the agency’s Langley headquarters in 2022 by a fellow trainee, reported the New York Post. When she tried to report the assault, she alleges that the agency opposed her efforts, even ordering her to lie to law enforcement.
In November of last year, a former CIA officer named Brian Jeffrey Raymond pled guilty to federal sex abuse charges while stationed in Mexico after nearly two dozen women came forward to accuse him of sexual assault, reported the New York Post.
At the time, the CIA released a statement saying, “As this case shows, we are committed to engaging with law enforcement to ensure that justice is served,” per the New York Post.
“In addition, we take any allegations of sexual assault or sexual harassment extremely seriously and have taken significant steps to ensure we maintain a safe, inclusive, and respectful environment for our workforce,” the CIA added.
