Crime & Safety
FBI Agent On Trial For Raping 3 Women At His Tattoo Parlor
Eduardo Valdivia, a suspended FBI agent who operated two tattoo parlors in Montgomery County, is on trial for raping 3 customers.
GAITHERSBURG, MD — Eduardo Valdivia, 41, a suspended FBI agent who operated tattoo parlors in Gaithersburg and Potomac under the alias “Lalo Brown,” is on trial for raping three women customers.
Valdivia, of Gaithersburg, was charged in November 2024 with six counts of second-degree rape, two counts of fourth-degree sexual offense and eight counts of second-degree assault.
The charges stem from reports made by two women who claimed they were raped by Valdivia inside DC Fine Line Tattoos, a tattoo studio in the 9800 block of Washingtonian Boulevard in Gaithersburg.
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WTOP reported Valdivia offered the victims free tattoos and a chance to become models.
According to Montgomery County police, the first victim came forward in October 2024 and said she was raped by a man she knew as "Lalo Brown." A second victim came forward with a similar claim of sexual assault in November.
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Both women told police they were lured to the tattoo studio after they were offered a free tattoo in exchange for a modeling opportunity with Exeter Models. Both victims said they believed they had been communicating with a woman.
According to police, one victim was sexually assaulted by Valdivia during her photo shoot at a Courtyard by Marriott hotel. He then threatened legal action against her if she didn't return for a second photo shoot because she had signed a contract, police said. She returned two weeks later and was sexually assaulted again, according to authorities.
Police said the second victim was sexually assaulted during a similar photo shoot at DC Fine Line Tattoos.
A third victim later came forward, WTOP said, who was an 18-year-old high school student, made an appointment for a tattoo, and received it at Valdivia’s studio in Potomac in August 2022. During a second visit in October 2022, the woman said Valdivia told her she should be topless for the tattoo and she “became immediately aware of Valdivia’s intention to engage her in sexual contact.”
Valdivia’s attorney, Robert Bonsib, has said all the encounters were consensual sexual acts, WTOP said.
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