A man who had worked in the office of astate senatorhas been arrested on charges of federal sex trafficking and child exploitation.
The suspect was 36-year-old Craig Scott Valdez, who was detained at the state capital and booked into federal custody. The chief-of-staff was arrested in Juneau on Friday,authorities say.
The arrest comes after a week-long investigation revealed a pattern of abuse that included social media apps and cash transfer services.
Valdez has been in the orbit of Senator George Rauscher since 2021. He serves as the chair of the Anchorage Young Republicans, a position he held beginning January of 2025, putting him in contact with young voters.
When the news of the arrest broke, Rauscher couldn't be reached for comment. A Senate Minority Caucus spokesman said Valdez was fired from his legislative post immediately.
The Alaska Republican Party issued a statement calling the charges 'nothing short of horrifying' and said Valdez would be removed from all positions within the party.
The essence of the case is an episode in October 2025 of a 15-year-old girl.Court documents sayValdez used Snapchat to lure her to his home in Anchorage 'for the purposes of sexually exploiting the child to celebrate his birthday.'
The girl's sibling witnessed the exchange of the messages and alerted their mother.
The mother used a tracking app to find where Valdez's house was and drove there. She called the police and then entered the residence and hit Valdez on the face once. The girl was found to be 'exhibiting signs of extreme drug or alcohol intoxication' and had trouble walking and staying conscious.
Police showed up, but Valdez ran away before they could arrest him. The mother recorded the chat on the girl's phone and sent screenshots of the chat to law enforcement. The girl told us that she was introduced to Valdez by other kids at the age of 13 or 14.
Source: International Business Times UK
