Ex-Romney aide, College Republican head, busted on sex offender charges

[tekisui]

A former aide to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney who also played a leadership role in Iowa's College Republicans was arrested by Des Moines-area police earlier in the week on outstanding warrants related to his status as a convicted sex offender.

Matthew Joseph Elliott, aged 26, and identified in numerous accounts as Matt Elliott, was arrested on Jan. 21 for outstanding warrants relating to his registered sex offender status, according to the Polk County government website. The Iowa registry of sex offenders also shows that he was convicted of exploiting a minor and given a "low" risk assessment.

The website Truth Caucus and an additional source independently confirmed to RAW STORY that Elliott was the same individual described in a Feb. 2006 account in the Washington Post. He briefly joined the Iowa presidential campaign staff of Governor Mitt Romney before leaving to run for a seat in the Iowa state legislature.

Additionally, Elliott was a leading College Republican in Iowa while attending Drake University, where he served as student body president. Elliott also served as director of the Iowa Republicans' Legislative Majority Fund.

Iowa state records show he was convicted on the sex charges in October 2006, months after leaving the Romney campaign.

West Des Moines police arrested Elliott while they were investigating the death of 7-month-old Alexis Gilbert, according to KCCI8-TV, found dead in her family's home where Elliott was staying. Elliott has been questioned, but not charged in relation to her death, which has been ruled a homicide. Gilbert's mother, Kristina, is 16 years of age, and her family has refused to explain Elliott's relationship to the family, according to the Des Moines Register.

link: http://rawstory.com/news/2007/ExRomney_aide_College_Republican_head_busted_0125.html

[varkam]

1. The story is a bit confusing...

they say that he was arrested on outstanding warrants in connection with his RSO status - which would presumably be non-compliance with the statue relating to residency restrictions or those relating to registration requirements - but later in the article it seems to imply that he is somehow suspected in the death of Alexis Gilbert.

:shrug:

[lurky]

2. Maybe the 16-year-old mother

is the minor he was convicted of "exploiting"... If so, and he was living with her, that would send up red flags, I think. Or if it's not the same girl, but this is a new underage girlfriend, maybe that violates some condition?

[varkam]

4. It could...

though it wouldn't be a crime in and of itself for a sex offender to be living with a minor - though I can see why that would attract attention. Nonetheless, one couldn't be arrested for such a thing.

If the two were sexually active, then SO or not the guy has broken the law.

[MADem]

3. Was he the father of the dead child? Sure seems like that is the inference?

And if the mother was sixteen, then she was younger than sixteen when you got pregnant...
Exploiting a minor, eh???

[B Calm]

5. What is it with these College Republicans and sex offending?

[Heywood J]

6. You could get away with striking the word "college" in that question.

"Matt Elliott, from the College Republicans, or NAMBLA..."