Former CIA Algeria operative charged with sex assault

A former CIA station chief has been charged with one count of sexual abuse while posted in Algeria and was arraigned before a Washington court Tuesday, Department of Justice officials said.

After the indictment was returned by a federal grand jury, 41-year-old Andrew Warren surrendered to special agents from the State Department, authorities said in a statement.

The indictment against Warren alleges he "sexually assaulted another individual on Feb. 17, 2008," officials said, noting that if convicted Warren could face up to life in prison.

Federal investigators launched a probe in January following US media reported allegations that Warren drugged and raped two women.

The station chief, an Islamic convert who had been in his post since September 2007, was ordered back to the United States in October after the women came forward with separate allegations that they were raped in the official's residence in Algiers, according to an ABC News report.

At the time CNN also said pills and other evidence, including about a dozen videotapes showing the officer engaged in sexual acts with women turned up when a search warrant was executed on the officer's residence.

An affidavit released by ABC News said Valium and Xanax, drugs FBI toxicologists described as "commonly used to facilitate sexual assault," were found in the officer's home in Algiers.