FBI agent acquitted in 2020 train shooting is arrested on sexual assault charges
WASHINGTON — An FBI agent who was acquitted attempted murder for shooting a man on a train nearly four years ago, was arrested Monday in Maryland on charges that he sexually assaulted two women, according to police and court records.
Eduardo Valdivia has been suspended by the FBI pending the conclusion of a police investigation in Montgomery County, Maryland, an agency spokesman said.
“The FBI takes allegations of criminal wrongdoing and misconduct very seriously,” the FBI spokesperson said in a statement. “Because this is an ongoing investigation, the FBI cannot comment further.”
Valdivia was previously indicted and acquitted in 2022 of attempted manslaughter and other charges stemming from an off-duty shooting aboard 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 dates of the alleged violations are May 2024 and September 2024.
Attorney Robert Bonsib, who represented Valdivia in the shooting case, confirmed that his client was arrested Monday on charges of sexual assault.
“We do not accept any accusation prima facie until all the evidence is in,” Bonsib said.
A Montgomery County Police Department spokesperson identified Valdivia as the arrested FBI agent without commenting on his connection to the shooting.
Police detectives believe there may be more victims and are planning a press conference Tuesday “to encourage them to come forward,” the department said in a statement. Police did not immediately release further information about the allegations.
Valdivia, 40, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, was ordered held in custody after his initial court appearance on Monday, Bonsib said. Valdivia will return to court Tuesday for a bond hearing before a judge, Bonsib said.
Bonsib has said Valdivia joined the FBI in 2011 and was promoted to supervisory special agent at FBI headquarters in 2019. The lawyer said Valdivia had been working as an FBI agent since his acquittal.
On December 15, 2020, a confrontation between Valdivia and an unarmed passenger quickly escalated from a testy altercation to a shooting on a train approaching the Medical Center station in Bethesda, Maryland.
Valdivia shot and wounded the man from a distance of about 2 to 3 feet (0.6 to 0.9 meters) after repeatedly ordering the man to back up, prosecutor Robert Hill said in court. The wounded man had part or all of his spleen, colon and pancreas removed during surgery after the shooting, Hill said.
Bonsib has said Valdivia acted in self-defense when the man approached him in the back of a train car.
“The law does not require you to wait until you are beaten before taking action. “If this had resulted in a fight and a struggle for Officer Valdivia’s gun, God only knows what could have happened,” Bonsib said after Valdivia was charged.