A former digital strategist who helped design social media ads for Donald Trump 's reelection campaign was arrested Friday for his alleged role in a child-porn distribution ring. After Homeland Security took over the case, federal agents said they found Verastigui engaging in disturbing chats with a group of 17 people, where several members boasted about actively producing child sexual abuse materials and sharing them with other members. Verastigui pleaded guilty in July 2021. We have not yet heard back. It wasnt immediately clear whether he had retained a lawyer. te dejo mi correo okis The last tweet . ### He also will be required to register as a sex offender for at least 15 years. Prior to joining the nonprofit in July, Verastigui, who has been involved in pro-life groups, worked for two years for the U.S. Senate, including a year and a half as a senior digital strategist for the Senate Republican Committee, and nine months as digital director of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, according to his LinkedIn profile. Verastigui started working at the non-profit organization Citizens For Responsible Energy Solutions in July 2020. Once Verastigui completes his 151-month sentence, he will be placed on supervised release for five years and will have to register as a sexual offender for at least 15 years, according to court documents. Ruben. Copyright 2023 The Washington Times, LLC. Verastigui faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years imprisonment and risks a maximum punishment of 20 years behind bars. Upon completion of his prison term, Verastigui will be placed on five years of supervised release. He was at the White House as recently as December and continued working for right-wing organizations until his arrest. But at Thursdays court session, the judge agreed to a sentence within those parameters. Ruben A. Verastigui, a former Senate Republican Conference aide who was charged on Saturday with distributing, receiving and possessing child pornography. Join Facebook to connect with Ruben Verastigui and others you may know. After a year-long investigation, he was charged with distributing child pornography, according to the DC Metropolitan Police. Chat histories revealed he had been involved in the group the previous week, according to court documents. How many people are missing here today because of abortion?. 27-year-old Ruben Verastigui, the Communications Manager at Citizens For Responsible Energy Solutions, and former Former Senior Digital Strategist for Senate Republicans and RNC, was charged with distribution of child pornography this week after a Washington D.C. pedophile investigation had caught the sick scum bag sending texts to a fellow . Ruben Verastigui appears in a C-SPAN screengrab. At the video court hearing, Ruben A. Verastigui, 27, admitted he had 152 videos and 50 images of child porn and traded sexual images of kids. We are prepared to fully cooperate with law enforcement requests in this matter to any extent needed., He also worked as a digital strategist for the Senate Republican Conference as recently as July, meaning some of his alleged offenses took place while he was a congressional staffer. As Joey Meneses awaits his first home run, his confidence is growing. Metropolitan Police DepartmentRuben Verastigui was arrested at his home on February 5. Verastigui indicated his preference for babies, saying they were his absolute favorite, and solicited another group member for videos of babies being raped. Verastigui is a native of San Antonia, Texas, the San Antonio Current reported. The sentencing submissions by the prosecution and defense in Verastiguis case are absent from the courts public docket and appear to be under seal. | AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File. * Ruben A. Verastigui, PEDO Who Worked for tRUMP and GOP, Arrested, Ways to get involved in the upcoming elections. By Ronna Romney McDaniel March 5, 2018 4:04 PM EST. Verastigui pleaded guilty on July 9, 2021, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The report states that the defendant was identified as an individual who had distributed child pornography via the use of the internet. According to the Washington Post, investigators also looked through Verastiguis cellphone and found several files of child pornography as well as a chat conversation about sharing the videos. The individual has not worked at SRC since July 2, 2020.. Ruben Verastigui is the former Republican aide facing a child pornography charge in Washington, D.C. . Heavy reached out to the attorney for comment. Prosecutors said the government found Verastigui while investigating a group of people trading child porn on a particular website, not identified in court filings, and determined that he was involved. On Thursday, the Justice Department announced that Ruben Verastigui, a former campaign aide for former President Donald Trump, has been sentenced to over 12 years in prison for possession of child . Computer. Ruben A. Verastigui, who worked for tRUMP and the GOP in 2017 to 2020, posted a photo of himself at the White House beside an ornate Christmas tree and under a doorway with the Presidential seal in 2020. He previously worked for the Republican National Committee and his job included designing digital ads for former President Donald Trumps re-election campaign, Verastigui noted on his LinkedIn account. Verastigui was arrested following an 11-month investigation by the Metropolitan Police Departments Youth and Family Services Division, the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, the Northern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and Homeland Security Investigations. He posted about the move on Instagram by sharing a photo of his arm tattoo, which reads, Nobody need wait. According to the Washington Post, the criminal complaint mentioned that Verastigui was identified in part because of a tattoo on his left forearm. Join Facebook to connect with Ruben Aaron Verastigui and others you may know. But according to excerpts shared online, federal investigators found written statements attributed to Verastigui in which he expressed that he enjoyed watching babies being sexually abused. (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.). Dial 911 to request police, fire and emergency medical services. Oops, this content can't be loadedbecause you're having connectivity problems, Stay always informed and up to date with our breaking news alerts, - The Washington Times - Saturday, July 10, 2021. View the profiles of people named Ruben Verastegui. Led by the United States Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. Prosecutors said Verastigui also fantasized online about killing children while abusing them. His reporting on the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell was featured on the Starz and Channel 4 documentary "Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell?" Ruben Verastigui, a former RNC staffer, was arrested on child pornography charges, DC Metro Police said. He is no longer employed by the organization and we are prepared to fully cooperate with law enforcement requests in this matter to any extent needed.. Verastigui worked for the Republican National Committee from 2017 to 2018 and for the Senate Republican Conference from 2019 to 2020, Politico noted in an article where the plea was first reported. Ruben A. Verastigui, who worked for tRUMP and the GOP in 2017 to 2020, posted a photo of himself at the White House beside an ornate Christmas tree and under a doorway with the Presidential . According to his now-deleted LinkedIn account, Verastigui previously worked as a senior digital strategist for the Senate Republican Conference and the Republican National Committee. In a statement of facts entered with the plea agreement, Verastigui agreed he told investigators that he was Landon and that he used the internet to view, receive and share child porn among the group. Ruben Verastigui, 27, who worked on Trump's 2020 re-election campaign, was previously employed as a senior digital strategist for the Senate Republican Conference and Republican National Committee. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. Montgomery sheriffs deputy fatally shoots man who caused two crashes and attacked him, authorities say, Maryland attorney found dead in his home after police responded to possible burglary, Prince Georges police reforms to include a director for race and gender equity and more data collection to track possible racial profiling, Local news, weather, sports, events, restaurants and more, Former Senate GOP staffer arrested on federal child pornography charges. A raid on Verastiguis apartment uncovered several files of child pornography on his cellphone and other footage of a sexually abused child, according to a criminal complaint. A former GOP staffer and Republican National Committee aide pleaded guilty to a child pornography charge after he admitted to possessing 50 photos and 152 videos of child pornography. The other group member then sent Verastigui numerous other videos of child pornography. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Ruben Verastigui was accused of distributing child pornography. This is a Story you likely missed that relates. The other group member promptly sent Verastigui a video of a baby being raped, to which Verastigui responded enthusiastically. He was present at the time of the search. This article was published more than2 years ago. Ruben A.Verastigui , Former Trump and GOP Aide - YouTube Please subscribe to our Youtube Channel - Yushi Talks - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCONLXIkGLgkp3pHcJ0YLu2A Please subscribe to. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visitwww.justice.gov/psc. We've received your submission. At the time of Verastiguis guilty plea, he admitted to possession of 152 videos and 50 images of child pornography and to receiving and distributing sexual depictions of children. Ruben Verastigui has been in custody since his arrest last February and is currently jailed at the U.S. Penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pa., according to the federal Bureau of Prisons. And hes in Knights of Columbus, Those pro-life views and actions were his ticket to Washington and a Groping old Perverts GOP job.. 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Verastigue also noted his apparent commitment to the pro-life movement on his Facebook page. View contact information: phones, addresses, emails and networks. U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta, an Obama appointee, accepted the plea but deferred on deciding whether to impose a sentence of roughly 12-to-15 years of incarceration as proposed by both parties. In the criminal complaint, Verastigui asked another member of an online child porn website to come to D.C. for the purpose of sexually abusing a minor., I was going to write more detail but I cantI had to erase it because what he said and did is beyond disgusting, and as a mother I am sickened that people like this exist. The 27-year-old Ruben Verastigui was charged with distributing child pornography, according to a release from the Metropolitan Police Department. Between March 2020 and February 2021, an investigation revealed the suspect distributed, received and possessed images of child pornography. 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