Former Republican staffer sentenced to 12 years in prison for operating child pornography ring

Jen Hayden

Daily Kos Staff

Friday April 08, 2022 · 7:42 AM PDT

2022/04/08 · 07:42

Ruben Verastigui speaking at the 2013 March for Life anti-choice rally, because of course

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On Thursday, the Department of Justice announced Ruben Verastigui has been sentenced to 151 months in prison on a federal charge of receipt of child pornography.

A Washington, D.C., resident, 29-year-old Ruben Verastigui has spent his entire career in conservative circles, including as an aide to the Trump re-election campaign and stints as a digital strategist for the Senate Republican Conference and the Republican National Committee.

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Ruben took pictures for the RNC. pic.twitter.com/r1LTsHIK4X
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) April 8, 2022

The Department of Justice detailed the evidence against Ruben Verastigui, and this case is extremely disturbing.

[Warning: Graphic description of the DOJ’s case is listed below]

According to the government’s evidence, from April 2020 through Feb. 2021, Verastigui was active in an online group devoted to trading child pornography and discussing child sexual abuse. Verastigui shared child pornography videos with another member of the group and made numerous comments about sexually abusing children. Verastigui indicated his preference for babies, saying they were his “absolute favorite,” and solicited another group member for videos of babies being raped. The other group member promptly sent Verastigui a video of a baby being raped, to which Verastigui responded enthusiastically. The other group member then sent Verastigui numerous other videos of child pornography.

Verastigui is just one of numerous Republican staffers to face child pornography charges in recent years. Chase Tristan Epsy, a lawyer for Alabama Gov. Kay Ivy, was arrested in 2021 for soliciting a minor.

When Mike Huckabee’s “friend Josh Duggar admitted to molesting 5 young girls, including 2 of his…sisters, the former…Governor wasn’t quite so harsh. According to Huckabee, ‘Josh’s actions... (were) ‘inexcusable,’ but that doesn’t mean ‘unforgivable.’” 1/ https://t.co/BHgqdpcYiV
— Jennifer Cohn ✍🏻 📢 (@jennycohn1) November 28, 2021

As usual, it seems the howls of Republicans are pure projection.

Whoever was writing the script for yesterday was working overtime: As KBJ was getting confirmed, a judge on her old court was sentencing a former RNC and Senate GOP aide for, yes, trading child porn. pic.twitter.com/zaDqILNdiu
— Mike DeBonis (@mikedebonis) April 8, 2022

And last, but not least, Verastigui was a featured speaker at the 2013 anti-choice rally in Washington, D.C.

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Former Republican staffer sentenced to 12 years in prison for operating child pornography ring

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