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CIA agent accused of date rape in Algeria

by Marisa Olivia | February 4, 2009 at 08:44 am

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CIA chief Andrew Warren, 41, could potentially face charges of at least two rape counts in Algeria. The CIA had initially refused to name the agent, but press reports have released his identity.

Investigators from the Justice Department allegedly found more than a dozen secretly recorded videotapes of the Mr Warren performing sex acts with other women. An official said one woman appeared to be in a "semi-conscious state".

Two women, both Muslim, have come forward to accuse Mr. Warren. One woman is said to have met him at a bar in Algiers, before going home with him and being drugged. The other may have been the wife of a friend. Neither suspected any foul play until after they had already been drugged.

A National Public radio report stated that the women had awoken in Warren's apartment, finding themselves in "compromising positions," with no idea how they had arrived there.

One of the women, an Algerian who lives in Europe but was home for a visit, said she had had several drinks at a party and these had an effect on her that she had not experienced before when drinking.

The next morning she awoke "on a bed, completely nude, with no memory of how she had been undressed", the indictment says.

The other woman, also an Algerian, who also lives in Europe and was back on a visit, said she became violently ill after having two drinks at Warren's residence. She said she had faded in an out of consciousness and woke to find Warren having sex with her. She blacked out and could not remember how she had got home.

The case could easily spark an international outcry, as the CIA post in Algiers is a strategic one, and the fact that the two women were Muslim warrants a strong reaction from the Middle East. Warren himself had converted to Islam and speaks fluent Arabic.

According to a Time magazine report:

Certain press reports have described Warren as a talented, aggressive officer, but some people who knew him considered him reckless and impulsive. I am told that he barely got through training, and it was recommended that he be permitted to work only under close supervision. The warnings apparently were ignored because of pressure on the CIA after 9/11 to put more people in the field.

The officer has been returned to Washington, D.C., where he continues to deny the allegations, saying that sex with both women was consensual. It is not clear whether these two cases are isolated, and if more women could potentially come forward to launch their own complaints. The man has yet to be formally charged.

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Terri Potratz

at 10:49 on February 4th, 2009

Awful, but I'm at least glad this is getting some press.

Amy Judd

at 11:58 on February 4th, 2009

I'm glad he was named - it's the least he deserves

Marisa Olivia

at 15:24 on February 4th, 2009

Please see above - this report did say that he was a convert to Islam and that he speaks fluent Arabic. It is between the last two quotes. Thank you for bringing up that issue - please see above.

Interesting point about naming the man.