A former Republican Senate staffer was arrested in Washington on Friday on federal child pornography charges in what investigators said was a crackdown on an online group that traded numerous illicit files and videos in recent months. An ex-GOP staffer who helped design social media ads for Donald Trumps re-election campaign has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for receiving hundreds of child sexual abuse materials, including videos of babies being raped. WASHINGTON Ruben Verastigui, 29, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 151 months in prison on a federal charge of receipt of child pornography. The other group member promptly sent Verastigui a video of a baby being raped, to which Verastigui responded enthusiastically. Upon completion of his prison term, Verastigui will be placed on five years of supervised release. Ruben Verastigui, 29, received the 151-month sentence from U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta during a hearing held via . His connection to the GOP was first reported on Twitter by Jared Holt, resident fellow at the Atlantic Councils Digital Forensic Research Lab. Have a tip or story idea? A six-page affidavit which detailed the Homeland Security investigation quotes Verstigui in the following conversation with another group member: Verastigui: Well like I said babies are some of my biggest turn-ons and beast, Verastigui: I have been wanting to see videos of guys hardcore rapping [sic] a baby..when a baby screams its my favorite. An anti-abortion activist originally from San Antonio, Verastigui spoke at the March for Life in Washington in 2013, according to a video clip posted online. View the map. Several years later, Verastigui discussed in great detail how much he enjoyed seeing children getting raped and killed, prosecutors said. Social media accounts matching Verastiguis name and photos indicate he has lived and worked in Washington since 2017. Department of Homeland Security investigators had started looking into the group in June 2020 and eventually accessed chat messages exchanged among its more than a dozen members, including Verastigui. By Ronna Romney McDaniel March 5, 2018 4:04 PM EST. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) on Friday announced that a former aide to President Donald Trump was arrested in Washington, D.C. and charged with receiving, possessing, and distributing child pornography.. 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 . We've received your submission. Ruben Verastigui, 27, of Northeast, DC,. Federal prosecutors have revealed new and even more disturbing details in their case against Ruben A. Verastigui, a former Senate Republican Conference aide who was charged on Saturday with distributing, receiving and possessing child pornography for 11 months leading up to February. His reporting on the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell was featured on the Starz and Channel 4 documentary "Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell?" Verastigui allegedly said in a group chat that he was into images of *babies* being sexually abused. Prosecutors recommended that he be sentenced to 12 to. The Post cited a spokesperson who confirmed via email that Verastigue had worked for the Republican Conference. Calls to numbers listed for Verastigui and family members werent immediately returned Saturday afternoon. Ruben Verastigui appears in a C-SPAN screengrab. Before that, congressional records show that Verastigui worked as a digital director for the GOP staff of the U.S. Joint Economic Committee in 2018. He was at the White House as recently as December and continued working for right-wing organizations until his arrest. Former employee of pro-life organizations arrested in DC on child pornography charges. A spokesperson said in a statement to the Daily Beast, The details of the allegations against Mr. Verastigui are tragic and shocking. Hageman appears to have been set to enter a guilty plea last April, but it is unclear from public court records whether that hearing was ever held. Site content may be used for any purpose without explicit permission unless otherwise specified. He was hired as a communications manager, according to his LinkedIn profile. The spokesperson told the Post, We have just learned about this investigation and arrest. The Metropolitan Police Department of Washington D.C. released an arrest report on a Texas native Friday accused of distribution of child pornography. 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 pleaded guilty in July 2021. Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Caroline Burrell and former Assistant U.S. Attorney April Russo, who prosecuted the case. According to the Metropolitan Police Department, Verastigui was arrested on February 5 following a nearly year-long investigation. Instagram A former staffer for Senate Republicans and the Republican National Committee. Jongro Korean BBQ in Wheaton transports you to a simpler, meatier time. Verastigui also acted as the digital media coordinator for the anti-abortion group Students for Life of America. Heavy is working to obtain a copy of the criminal complaint detailing the case against Verastigui. According to the Daily Beast, Homeland Security agents uncovered a website that at least 18 people were using to share child pornography. In a detention memo filed in D.C. federal court on Tuesday, prosecutors revealed that Verastigui also discussed in great detail how much he enjoyed seeing children be abused and killed. Ruben A. Verastigui, a former Senate Republican Conference aide who was charged on Saturday with distributing, receiving and possessing child pornography. In one conversation in April, Verastigui allegedly told a user identified as S-1 that pornography involving babies was his absolute favorite. The user later sent him a graphic video of child abuse, court records show, followed by nine more illicit clips the following day. In the video that follows, Ruben Verastigui as a young man speaks of religion and saving babies and is arrested 8 years later as a pedo. . 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. The 27-year-old Ruben Verastigui was charged with distributing child pornography, according to a release from the Metropolitan Police Department. Verastigui worked as a digital strategist for the Senate Republican Conference as recently as last July. Join Facebook to connect with Ruben Verastigui and others you may know. Log in to see their photos and videos. 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. He has been in custody ever since. 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. Upon completion of his prison term, Verastigui will be placed on five years of supervised release. Verastigui has been in custody since his arrest on Feb. 5, 2021. Verastigui started working at the non-profit organization Citizens For Responsible Energy Solutions in July 2020. Ruben. He was sentenced by the Honorable Amit P. Mehta. He was charged with distributing child pornography after a year-long investigation, according to the D.C. Metropolitan Police. ### Citizens For Responsible Energy Solutions, Man With Florida Face Tattoo Called 911 for Ride & Was Arrested. 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 . He started as a digital director for the congressional Joint Economic Committee before becoming the senior digital strategist for the Senate Republican Conference. Daily Kos moves in solidarity with the Black community. WASHINGTON, DC Ruben Verastigui, 29, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced in federal court on Thursday to 12 year and five months in prison for soliciting and receiving videos involving sexual abuse of children, including the rape of a baby, according to court documents. In the about section, rather than listing a party affiliation under political views, he wrote Social Justice Begins in the Womb.. Verastigue also noted his apparent commitment to the pro-life movement on his Facebook page. According to one excerpt, Verastigui was sent videos of men sexually abusing babies. Join Facebook to connect with Ruben Verastegui and others you may know. According to the Metropolitan Police Department, Verastigui was arrested on February 5. 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. * Ruben A. Verastigui, PEDO Who Worked for tRUMP and GOP, Arrested, Ways to get involved in the upcoming elections. Emailus. Verastigui pleaded guilty on July 9, 2021, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. 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 . Upon completion of his prison term, Verastigui will be placed on five years of supervised release. 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. Verastigui had the user name Landon and the handle @somethingtaken. His profile on the Students for Life website appears to have been taken down. The Metropolitan Police Department said Verastigue was charged with one count of Distribution of Child Pornography. Following up on a request from Verastigui, another group member sent him a video that showed a baby being sexually abused, according to court documents. The former GOP aide was snared in an investigation that focused on a ring of at least 18 people trading child pornography via a chat group on an unnamed website and appears to have zeroed in on at least one other political staffer in Washington, according to court filings. Verastigui allegedly received videos of children being abused as part of an online group that authorities from the Department of Homeland Securitys Child Exploitation Unit dubbed Application A in court papers describing their investigation. Verastigui started working for the Republican National Committee in May 2017. Ruben A. Verastigui, 27, had previously worked for the Senate Republican Conference as a digital strategist and until his arrest worked for a center-right energy group, Citizens For Responsible. Facebook gives people the. On Friday, February 5, 2021, 27 year-old Ruben Verastigui, of Northeast, DC, was arrested and charged with Distribution of Child Pornography. 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. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. Our nation-wide commitment to reducing gun crime in America. How many of us are missing brothers, sisters, cousins, friends because of abortion?. He worked in an office doing graphic design and had no oversight or management of students, Kristi Hamrick, a spokeswoman, wrote in a statement. A LinkedIn page for Ruben Verastigui says he also worked as a senior designer for the Republican National Committee in 2017 and 2018, designing social media ads for the Trump Make America Great Again Committee and Donald J. Trump for President. With children stuck at home during coronavirus shutdowns, online sexual predators can swoop in. In one exchange Verastigui allegedly wrote, Well like I said babies are some of my biggest turn-ons and beast. Mehtas sentence for Verastigui was seven months more than the minimum of the range of 144 months to 188 months permitted under a plea deal he struck with prosecutors last year. GOOD NEWS of sorts Conspiracy theorist and POS Wayne Allyn Root is suspended permanently from Twitter AND conspiracy theorist and POS Jim Hoft, founder/editor-in-chief of far-right news website Gateway pundit are permanently suspended from Twitter. 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. He was also a member of Students for Life America, Live Action, Susan B Anthony List,previously worked for anti-abortion groups Texas Right to Life. The 27-year-old was arrested Friday evening at his apartment in Northeast Washington, where police executed a search warrant. Having pleaded guilty pursuant to a plea agreement, Ruben Verastegui-Garcia ("Verastegui") appeals his sentence for being illegally present in the United States after having been deported, in violation of 8 U.S.C. WASHINGTON, DC Ruben Verastigui, 29, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced in federal court on Thursday to 12 year and five months in prison for soliciting and receiving videos involving sexual . In some pictures, including one on the Speakers Balcony at the U.S. Capitol, Verastigui appears to have a tattoo of text on his left forearm that matches a description in court documents. Earth Day Cleanup at Oxon Cove - It's free! Verastigui was active in Republican politics, most recently working as a communications manager for the nonprofit Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, which supports Republicans who back clean-energy legislation. Law enforcement has not publicly identified the website because the investigation is ongoing. 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. (His name is misspelled in the graphic under the video but is spelled as given in federal court documents in this report.). When Verastigui spoke at the National March for Life in 2013, he said: I truly believe that we are the chosen generation, and we will abolish abortion and change history.. 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. Check resumes and CV, arrest records, photos and videos, social media profiles, work history, places of employment, public records, memorials and news . A spokeswoman for Students for Life told the Post that Verastigue did not manage students while working for the group. As established in numerous fact-checks, Jacksons sentences in child pornography cases were on par with those dealt with 80 percent of her peers in the District of D.C. Alberto Luperon and Jerry Lambe contributed to this report. Ruben. He was no longer employed at the organization as of Saturday, according to a statement provided by spokesman Ross Gillfillan. During an interview with investigators, Verastigui admitted to receiving some of the files, according to the complaint. WASHINGTON, DC: A former staffer for the Republican National Committee and the Senate Republicans has been arrested on child pornography charges at his home in Washington, DC on Friday, February 5. LinkedIn Verastigue attended Northwest Vista College in San Antonio from 2011 until 2014, according to his LinkedIn account. The individual has not worked at SRC since July 2, 2020., READ NEXT: Man With Florida Face Tattoo Called 911 for Ride & Was Arrested, Ruben Verastigui: Former Trump & Republican Aide Charged in Child Porn Case, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves, Special Agent in Charge Villanueva, and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from Homeland Security Investigations and the Metropolitan Police Department. Court records show a public defender was assigned to represent Verastigui. 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. VineLinkRuben Verastigui is charged with one count of distributing child pornography. 13. Between March 2020 and February 2021, an investigation revealed the suspect distributed, received and possessed images of child pornography. The details of the allegations against Mr. Verastigui are tragic and shocking, the nonprofit said in a statement to The Post. Following the search of his apartment Friday, investigators conducted a forensic preview of his phone, according to court documents. As Joey Meneses awaits his first home run, his confidence is growing. He also will be required to register as a sex offender for at least 15 years. Federal prosecutors have revealed new and even more disturbing details in their case against Ruben A. Verastigui, a former Senate Republican Conference aide who was charged on Saturday with. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich in good health, in Russian prison, US envoy says, 2-year-old Virginia boy revived with Narcan after overdose: cops, NYC teen charged with murder in shooting of 17-year-old boy at subway station, Air National Guardsman arrested after applying on Rent-a-Hitman website. They said Verastigui used the pseudonym Landon and the handle @somethingtaken.. Verastigui, who worked for pro-life groups and designed social media ads for Donald Trumps re-election campaign, was working for the GOP at the time of the alleged offending. After being read his Miranda rights, Verastigui admitted that he used the username Landon and that he had been part of the group on Application A and had received child pornography during the time he was a part of that group, investigators said. There are 20+ professionals named "Ruben Verastegui", who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, and opportunities. According to the LinkedIn page bearing the name Ruben Verastigui, the user was involved in several antiabortion rights organizations before his work in government, including March for Life, Students for Life America and Live Action. Creo que como lo puse arriba tal vez suena mal,porque parece que para todos es record, pero es que dentro de un tweet caber todo y numeros incluidos es complicado y a veces se mal The 27-year-old worked for the RNC in 2017 and 2018, where he worked as a senior designer on social media ads for Trump's re-election campaign, the Trump Make America Great Again Committee and Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. 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. They said the details of the room and a tattoo visible on his left arm matched a picture from his Instagram account. 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