ICE HSI investigation lands Washington, D.C. man in federal prison for more than 12 years for receipt of child pornography
The defendant requested videos of babies
WASHINGTON - An investigation conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C. field office culminated on April 7, when Ruben Verastigui, 29, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison for the receipt of child pornography.
According to the investigation, from April 2020 through February 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.
“Mr. Verastigui’s crimes are particularly heinous, a fact that was reflected in the severity of his sentencing,” said Special Agent in Charge Raymond Villanueva of HSI Washington, D.C. “Now, Mr. Verastigui will begin to pay his significant debt to society, but this sentencing should serve as a warning to others who would victimize innocent children. We will not stand by as these monsters exploit the most fragile members of society.”
Verastigui pleaded guilty on July 9, 2021, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Amit P. Mehta. Upon completion of his prison term, Verastigui will be placed on five years of supervised release. He also will be required to register as a sex offender for at least 15 years.
The announcement was made by Villanueva and U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves. Villanueva and Graves commended the work of those who investigated the case from Homeland Security Investigations and local law enforcement. 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.
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. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s 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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
HSI is a directorate of ICE and the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 7,100 special agents assigned to 220 cities throughout the United States, and 80 overseas locations in 53 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.
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