GOP lawmaker's top aide jailed on sex-trafficking charges after getting punched by mother
Source: Raw Story · Bias: Far Left
Summary
The top aide to a Republican state senator from Alaska was jailed Friday on child sex-trafficking charges, and after getting punched in the face by the mother of the alleged victim, Alaska’s News Source reported Friday.Craig Scott Valdez, the chief of staff for Alaska Sen. George Rauscher, was arrested Friday after being accused of arranging to pick up a minor from their family’s home via social media, and later taking them to his home, the outlet reported. The minor’s location was determined by their mother using their phone’s GPS tracking feature.“When [the mother] arrived [at Valdez’s home], she heard the minor inside say they wanted to go home,” Alaska’s New Source reported. “The mother entered the residence, struck Valdez once in the face and recovered the minor, who exhibited signs of extreme drug or alcohol intoxication and had difficulty walking and maintaining consciousness, court documents say.”The mother then notified the Anchorage Police Department according to the report, which soon descended on the property, after which Valdez "puzzlingly" fled his home, police said.Valdez was ultimately arrested, and later discovered to have targeted at least 11 other suspected minor victims using social media.In a press release sent Friday evening, Rauscher said that the news was a “shock” to his office, and that Valdez was terminated immediately.“I was informed today of the arrest of a member of my staff in a federal investigation involving extremely serious charges. I learned of this matter after law enforcement action was taken and then from the press. I trust the Department of Justice to handle this appropriately,” Rauscher said in the press release.“This is a shock to my office. The employee was terminated. I do not have anything more to say, other than we need the justice system to take its course as the process continues.”
Related Coverage
- 'God is angry': Internet bemused as Mother Nature comes for Trump's Mount Rushmore speech (Far Left — Raw Story)
- Penn Dems boot GOP Rep from House floor for patriotic suit despite encouraging ‘Pride’ attire (Far Right — BizPac Review)
- A Vietnam Nurse Who Came Home, Helped Get Us to 250 (Center Right — RealClearPolitics - Homepage)
- Europe Has Replaced Most US Cuts Within NATO, Top Commander Says (Center — Bloomberg Politics)
- Pay-to-play cycle behind GOP's corporate tax cuts exposed in new report (Far Left — Raw Story)
- Mamdani mocked by GOP for telling New Yorkers to set thermostats to 78 (Center — The Hill News)
- In 1976, I went to jail to celebrate the Fourth of July (Left — Salon.com)
- How the world's top AI models were revived (Center Left — Axios)
More Headlines From February 21, 2026
- Trump escalates tariffs despite Supreme Court loss (Left)
- Supreme Court conservatives split sides with liberals in Trump tariffs ruling (Center Right)
- Inside the hidden factor fueling Trump's anger at the Supreme Court (Left)
- WSJ demands 'ugly' Trump apologize to the Supreme Court (Left)
- Trump chastised for plan to introduce 'more chaos' (Left)








