He was sentenced by the Honorable Amit P. Mehta. February 28, 2022. previously worked for anti-abortion groups Texas Right to Life. Between March 2020 and February 2021, an investigation revealed the suspect distributed, received and possessed images of child pornography. Ruben Verastigui, a former GOP political aide who designed ads for President Trump's re-election campaign, has been charged with distributing child pornography. We have no knowledge of the allegations that we learned about today, the events of which took place after his tenure.. GitHub Overview Repositories 1 Projects Packages Stars Ruben-Verastegui Follow Block or Report Popular repositories DevNetClass Public 3 contributions in the last year He also will be required to register as a sex offender for at least 15 years. Students for Life confirmed Verastigui worked there from Sept. 5, 2014, to Dec. 2, 2016, after he was a student involved with the group. LinkedIn Kos Media, LLC. Verastigui was sentenced on the same day the Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson as Supreme Court justice, whom Republicans tried to discredit by misleadingly depicting her as lenient on child pornography offenses. But in light of his arrest, the organization has terminated Verastigui. In the about section, rather than listing a party affiliation under political views, he wrote Social Justice Begins in the Womb.. 23 Followers, 61 Following, 12 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Ruben verastegui (@verastegui_ruben) Ruben Verastegui Found 6 people in Texas, Armed Forces and 2 other states. 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. 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. (His name is misspelled in the graphic under the video but is spelled as given in federal court documents in this report.). Making sure that victims of crimes are treated with compassion, fairness and respect. Verastigui is making headlines after being arrested by the DC police in charge of distributing child pornography. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, a Barack Obama appointee, dealt Verastigui a sentence of 151 months in prison on Thursday. 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. Verastigui worked as a digital strategist for the Senate Republican Conference as recently as last July. 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. 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 . Ruben Verastigui, 29, reportedly posted a photograph of himself at the White House just two months before his arrest on child pornography offenses. From April 2020 through February 2021 Verastigui was an active member of an online group that discussed child sexual abuse and traded child pornography, according to authorities. At the time of his arrest, Verastigui was employed by the nonprofit Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions in the communications department. Should the Commanders pick up Chase Youngs option? 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. His sentencing hearing is currently scheduled for Oct. 12. His worked for the GOP staff of the U.S. Joint Economic Committee in 2018, GOP Senate Republican Conference til 2020, the senior designer for the RNC in 2017 and 2018 and for tRUMP as a digital strategist designing social media ads for the Trump Make America Great Again Committee and tRUMPs campaign. Previously a reporter for Courthouse News, he has appeared as a guest on NewsNation, NBC, MSNBC, CBS's "Inside Edition," BBC, NPR, PBS, Sky News, and other networks. Firearms Registration and License to Carry, How to File a Citizen Complaint or Commendation. Verastigui entered the plea Friday during a virtual hearing conducted before a federal court judge in Washington, D.C., where he was living when he admittedly exchanged child porn online with others. He was present at the time of the search. 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. Officers Stop Assault Rifle From Reaching Capitol Hill: Police, MEN WANTED in the Greater DC Baltimore Area to Fight Breast Cancer, Volunteers Needed to Give Cancer Patients Rides to Treatment, Third Thursday Reception: Portals & Passages. He also shared screenshots that he said were from the criminal complaint. What are Dr. Verastegui's areas of care? 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. Verastigue attended Northwest Vista College in San Antonio from 2011 until 2014, according to his LinkedIn account. The other group member then sent Verastigui numerous other videos of child pornography. Instagram A former staffer for Senate Republicans and the Republican National Committee. Upon completion of his prison term, Verastigui will be placed on five years of supervised release. 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. According to the Metropolitan Police Department, Verastigui was arrested on February 5. Ruben Verastigui is the former Republican aide facing a child pornography charge in Washington, D.C. Verastigui came onto authorities radar after last June, when agents from Homeland Security Investigations began investigating a group of at least 18 people who were trading child pornography online, according to a statement of facts in the case. When Mehta accepted the guilty plea last July, he indicated he was not binding himself to that range and might reject the deal, returning the case for trial. View contact information: phones, addresses, emails and networks. 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. The details of the allegations against Mr. Verastigui are tragic and shocking, the statement said. Ruben Verastigui, 27, allegedly distributed, received, and possessed child . At the 2013 March for Life rally, Verastigui was introduced as the president of his colleges Students for Life group, according to a C-SPAN video of the antiabortion rights event. Ruben Verastigui was accused of distributing child pornography. By Ronna Romney McDaniel March 5, 2018 4:04 PM EST. The Post, citing the complaint, reported that Verastigui acknowledged that he had received some of the child pornography files. Fast, informative and written just for locals. The Metropolitan Police Department of Washington D.C. released an arrest report on a Texas native Friday accused of distribution of child pornography. And hes in Knights of Columbus, 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, *WARNING, Disturbing Content. 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. 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, PEDO Who Worked for tRUMP and GOP, Arrested, Ways to get involved in the upcoming elections. Check resumes and CV, arrest records, photos and videos, social media profiles, work history, places of employment, public records, memorials and news . Claims that incoming Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was too lax in her sentences for such offenders dominated the questioning of her by GOP senators at her confirmation hearings last month. Metropolitan Police DepartmentRuben Verastigui was arrested at his home on February 5. Click here for reprint permission. Copyright 2023 The Washington Times, LLC. Site content may be used for any purpose without explicit permission unless otherwise specified. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Raymond Villanueva, Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). 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. View the profiles of people named Ruben Aaron Verastigui. Verastigui started working at the non-profit organization Citizens For Responsible Energy Solutions in July 2020. Upon completion of his prison term, Verastigui will be placed on five years of supervised release. Verastigui also acted as the digital media coordinator for the anti-abortion group Students for Life of America. Jackson was confirmed to the high court Thursday in a 53-47 vote and will take her place there once Justice Stephen Breyer retires this summer. 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. According to an affidavit submitted in connection with Verastiguis arrest, he sought out images of rape of children during an online chat in 2020. Verastigui appeared to frequently post photos around D.C. on Instagram, including recently from the White House. A committee spokesperson didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. Warning: The details of the story below are graphic and disturbing. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. Verastigui has been in custody since his arrest on Feb. 5, 2021. General internal medicine physicians, or internists, are. The other group member promptly sent Verastigui a video of a baby being raped, to which Verastigui responded enthusiastically. 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. Ruben. 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Dr. Verastegui's office is located at 18111 Prince Philip Drive, Olney, MD. Showing the cases unusual secrecy, Verastiguis sentencing briefings were not filed publicly. Verastigui then allegedly asked the person who sent him the videos to come to DC for the purpose of sexually abusing a minor.. Ruben Verastigui, 27, entered the guilty plea from jail during a video conference hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C. Verastigui admitted to possession of 152. Ruben Verastigui, 29, received the 151-month sentence from U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta during a hearing held via . A former Republican Capitol Hill staffer who served as an aide to the Republican National Committee pleaded guilty to child pornography charges Friday.. Ruben Verastigui, 27, faces at least 12 . Social media accounts matching Verastiguis name and photos indicate he has lived and worked in Washington since 2017. Verastigue remained behind bars as of February 7 at the D.C. 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