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Saturday, February 6, 2021

San Antonio native who worked as Trump aide arrested in Washington D.C. on child porn charges

Posted By Sanford Nowlin on Sat, Feb 6, 2021 at 4:41 PM

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Ruben Verastigui speaks at the 2013 March for Life rally in Washington D.C. - SCREEN CAPTURE / C-SPAN

Screen Capture / C-SPAN
Ruben Verastigui speaks at the 2013 March for Life rally in Washington D.C.

A San Antonio native active in Republican politics was taken into custody by Washington D.C. police on child pornography charges, according to an online arrest record.

A criminal complaint against Ruben Verastigui, 27, accuses him of distributing, receiving and possessing images of child pornography. News site Law & Crime identified him as a one-time aide to former President Donald Trump.

Verastigui's LinkedIn profile lists his current job as communications manager at Citizens For Responsible Energy Solutions, a right-leaning advocacy group. He attended Northwest Vista College in San Antonio from 2011-2014, according to the page.

The LinkedIn profile also lists other political work including a stint as a digital strategist for the Senate Republican Conference and as a senior designer for the Republican National Committee.

Video posted by cable network C-SPAN shows Verastigui speaking at the 2013 March for Life rally in Washington D.C. The clip identifies him as president of the Northwest Vista College Students for Life.

Journalist Jared Holt first brought attention to the arrest on Twitter, sharing graphic excerpts from the criminal complaint. Those include allegations that Verastigui extended an invite to another person during an online chat to come to Washington D.C. "for the purpose of sexually abusing a minor."

According to the public document, Verastigui also told the person he was "into" raping babies and that babies were his "absolute favorite." The pair also exchanged a video file showing an adult having anal sex with an infant, according to the allegations in the report.

NEW: D.C. Police arrested Ruben Verastigui -- a former "senior digital strategist" for the Senate Republican Conference -- on charges of distribution of child pornography resulting from a time span that allegedly included his time at the SRC. How I confirmed ID in thread (1/?) pic.twitter.com/AcZ7c2sBKb
— Jared Holt (@jaredlholt) February 6, 2021

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Tags: Ruben Verastigui, baby rape, child pornography, kiddie porn, child porn, Washington D.C., Donald Trump, Trump aide, RNC, Republican National Committee, Northwest Vista, Citizens for responsible energy solutions, Republican, Senate Republican Conference, Students for Life, Image

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