A 20-year-old Mexican national has been arrested in Virginia for allegedly soliciting sexual content from young children online, after being previously charged with two counts of public masturbation in the sanctuary state.
Angel David Rubio Marin allegedly offered children “Robux,” as well as regular money, in exchange for sexual content he requested over a popular messaging service.
The illegal immigrant from Mexico was arrested by the Culpeper Police Department in Culpeper on March 5. Investigators found evidence that Rubio Marin requested sexually explicit videos and images from at least three children under 10 years old, according to police.
Investigators said he enticed the young children by offering to pay them in “Robux,” a digital currency used to play video games.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also lodged an arrest detainer for Rubio Marin following his arrest. He illegally entered the U.S. at an unknown place and time, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“This sicko preyed on innocent children by offering to pay them in a video game currency in exchange for child pornography,” said DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. “This illegal alien was RELEASED from jail after an arrest for public masturbation.”
Rubio Marin, of Manassas, Va., about 40 miles northeast of Culpeper, was charged with seven felony counts of the Use of Communications Systems to Facilitate Certain Offenses Involving Children, according to the Culpeper Police Department. Additional charges may be filed following as the investigation continues.
On March 1, Culpeper police received a report that three children had been contacted by an adult stranger via a popular messaging service. They determined that the communication was sexual in nature and alerted detectives assigned to the NOVA-DC ICAC Task Force.
The Task Force is coordinated by the Virginia State Police. Detectives used digital fingerprints to develop a suspect profile and other evidence to obtain an arrest warrant for Rubio Marin.
“Not only did the suspect offer to pay with traditional currency, he also offered to pay them with “Robux,” an in-game currency for the popular online gaming platform, Roblox; commonly utilized by children,” according to a press release.
Within hours, the Manassas City Police Department located and arrested him. Rubio Marin was being held without bond at the Prince William County Adult Detention Center, but it remains to be seen for how long.
He was previously arrested by local police in Prince William County and charged with two counts of public masturbation in 2024. Local authorities released him from jail back into Virginia’s neighborhoods to “commit more sex crimes against children,” DHS officials said.
“This case is a perfect example of why we need state and local cooperation with ICE,” Bis said. “We are calling on Virginia sanctuary politicians and Governor Abigail Spanberger to commit to not releasing this child predator back into Virgina neighborhoods. No one wants this pedophile loose on American streets.”
Manassas, Va., is in Prince William County but very close to neighboring Fairfax County in northern Virginia. Fairfax County has made national headlines for its sanctuary policies that have allowed illegal alien criminals to be released from custody and commit violent crimes.
Culpeper police said evidence suggests it is likely that Rubio Marin had similar contact with additional, unidentified children. Detectives have asked that anyone with additional information contact police.
Parents need to be proactive when it comes to monitoring their children’s online activity, which is what helped investigators break this case, police said. They are often the last line of defense between predators and potential victims.
Culpeper police warned that “predators are constantly finding new ways of contacting juveniles” on internet-based social platforms and that “parental monitoring is crucial to the safety of children online.”
