A federal jury in Newport News, Virginia has convicted Anthony George Ruggiero, 42, of Gloucester on charges related to the sexual abuse and exploitation of a foreign exchange student and the receipt of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Court records and evidence presented during the trial showed that Ruggiero hosted a foreign exchange student at his home in Gloucester in 2021. After returning to her home country in 2022, the student told medical professionals she had been sexually abused by Ruggiero between 2021 and 2022. Investigators found that Ruggiero communicated with the student through social media, sending messages that indicated ongoing sexual abuse when she was 15 and 16 years old. The communications continued after her return home and included requests for sexually explicit photos as well as discussions referencing past incidents and potential future encounters.
The jury also found Ruggiero guilty of receiving five videos containing CSAM involving an identified victim from Texas.
Ruggiero is scheduled to be sentenced on March 18, 2026. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison and could receive up to life imprisonment. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge who will consider U.S. Sentencing Guidelines along with other statutory factors.
Lindsey Halligan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, stated: “Lindsey Halligan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Dominique Evans, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Roderick C. Young accepted the verdict.”
Assistance in this case came from multiple agencies including the Family and Women Assistance Unit of the Spanish National Police, Spanish Embassy officials, and police from Grand Prairie, Texas.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Devon E.A. Heath and Peter G. Osyf are prosecuting.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood—a national Department of Justice initiative started in May 2006—aimed at combating child sexual exploitation online by coordinating efforts among federal, state, and local agencies to locate offenders and rescue victims. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
Further details about this case are available through public records from both the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia website as well as PACER under Case No. 4:24-cr-29.
