Former CIA chief in Algiers charged with sexual abuse

By Terry Frieden
CNN Justice Producer

WASHINGTON (CNN) - A former CIA station chief in Algeria has been indicted in Washington on a charge of sexual abuse involving an alleged sexual assault of an unidentified Algerian woman at his official residence in the Algerian capital last year, according to government documents.

Andrew Warren, 41, was named in a one-count indictment returned by a grand jury two weeks ago, and unsealed in U.S. District Court Tuesday as he surrendered to authorities. Warren was promptly arraigned before a federal magistrate judge Tuesday.

The State Department has acknowledged Warren had been ordered back to the United States, before the case became public in January. The State Department confirmed its internal investigation found behavior that prompted the action. An affidavit by a State Department investigator included allegations by two women who separately said they had been raped, and they suspected their drinks had been drugged.

The Justice Department Tuesday issued a statement which appeared consistent with one of the allegations.

"The indictment alleges that at the time of the alleged sexual assault, the victim was incapable of appraising the nature of the conduct and was physically incapable of declining participation in, or communicating unwillingness to engage in the sexual act," the statement said.

According to the affidavit filed last year Warren told investigators he had "consensual sexual intercourse" with the two women.

Warren was fired by the CIA earlier this year. Agency Spokesman George Little said the CIA "will continue to cooperate with law enforcement on this matter."

If convicted of the one count of sexual assault Warren could face a sentence of life in prison.

–CNN's Pam Benson contributed to this story.