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In a troubling development from Alaska, a legislative aide has been indicted on appalling charges involving the exploitation of minors. Craig Scott Valdez, aged 36, was formally charged earlier this week with serious offenses including child sex trafficking and the production of child pornography.
The indictment, issued on Tuesday, led to Valdez’s arrest on Friday in Juneau, as confirmed by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska. The accusations against Valdez are grave, with federal prosecutors alleging that he utilized the social media platform Snapchat to identify, groom, and lure young girls in Alaska for sexual exploitation. While the indictment specifically addresses an incident involving one victim in October 2025, authorities suspect there may be additional victims in both Anchorage and Juneau.
Valdez’s role within the state government and political organizations adds another layer of concern to these charges. Identified by the US Attorney’s Office as a state employee operating in Anchorage and Juneau, further details emerged from the Anchorage Daily News linking Valdez to state Senator George Rauscher as a legislative aide and noting his position as the chairman of Anchorage Young Republicans. Following the indictment, a spokesperson for the Senate Minority Caucus confirmed that Valdez had been dismissed from his aide position. However, the Anchorage Young Republicans have yet to issue a statement regarding his status.
As reported by the Daily News, Valdez’s name remained on the organization’s leadership list until it was removed by Friday evening, reflecting the swift fallout from these serious allegations. This case highlights the urgent need for vigilance and accountability within political and public service spheres to protect vulnerable populations.
The Daily News said he was still listed as chairman on Friday, but his name had been removed by Friday evening.
The indictment says the victim in October was 15 years old and that investigators believe there are as many as 11 other victims, according to a memorandum filed by prosecutors urging a judge to deny bond.
“Mr. Valdez is a compulsive child exploitation offender engaging in high-volume conduct targeting children as young as 13 in Alaska in order to facilitate both the production of child pornography and child sex trafficking, among other offenses,” prosecutors wrote.
According to Alaska Public Media, the detention memo says that Valdez met the 15-year-old girl on Snapchat, picked her up at her home, and drove her to his home “for the purpose of sexually exploiting the child to celebrate his birthday.”
The teen’s sibling told their mother, who then used a family tracking app to track the girl to Valdez’s home. She drove to his home and waited outside while she called police. She said she heard her daughter inside the house say something about wanting to leave.
“(The girl’s) mother then entered the residence, struck Valdez once in the face and recovered the child, who exhibited signs of extreme drug or alcohol intoxication and had difficulty walking and maintaining consciousness,” the memo says. “(Police) responded a short time later, at which point Valdez, puzzlingly, chose to flee from his own residence.”
The girl left her phone inside Valdez’s home, but the mother accessed messages from a linked device and saw that Valdez had used Snapchat to entice the girl to come to his home for sex.
The teen told investigators that she had been introduced to Valdez when she was 13 or 14 by other children.
Investigators asked that anyone with any information about the case — especially if they encountered anyone using Valdez’s name or usernames “DOCHANK” or “NONAME2033132” — to contact the FBI Anchorage Field Office at (907) 276-4441 or anonymously at tips.fbi.gov.
Valdez is charged with sex trafficking of children, producing child pornography, coercion and enticement of children, and receipt of child pornography, the US Attorney’s Office said. He is set to make an initial court appearance on Monday.