The Perverted Lives of the Rich and Famous > GOP Rep's ex aide and girlfriend self immolates in Texas

 

GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales admits to having affair with ex-aide who burned herself to death: ‘I made a mistake’

By 

Victor Nava

Published March 4, 2026

 Updated March 4, 2026, 8:58 p.m. ET

Embattled Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales, who just advanced to a runoff in his Texas district’s primary election, admitted on Wednesday that he had an extramarital affair with a staffer who later fatally set herself on fire.

“I made a mistake, and I had a lapse in judgment,” Gonzales said during an interview on “The Joe Pags Show,” a day after Tuesday’s Republican House primary election.

“And there was a lack of faith,” the congressman continued. “And I take full responsibility for those actions.”

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Texas GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales and his top aide, Regina Santos-Aviles, with Elon Musk in Eagle Pass in 2023.

James Keivom

Gonzales indicated that he has “reconciled” with his wife since the May 2024 affair with his late staffer, married mom Regina Santos-Aviles.

“I’ve asked God to forgive me, which he has,” Gonzales said.

“When you make mistakes like this, it’s never easy. It humbles you,” he added.

The House Ethics Committee is investigating Gonzales over the claims that he “engaged in sexual misconduct” with a staffer and “discriminated unfairly” by “dispensing special favors or privileges.”

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Santos-Aviles died after setting herself on fire.

Regina Santos Aviles / Facebook

Leaked text messages between Gonzales and Santos-Aviles emerged last month, showing the congressman asked his staffer for “a sexy pic.”

Other texts between Santos-Aviles and a former colleague shared with The Post revealed her discussing the “affair.”

Santos-Aviles, 35, fatally set herself on fire in the backyard of her Uvalde home on Sept. 13, 2025, dying the following day of the severe burns she suffered. 

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Gonzales indicated that he has “reconciled” with his wife since the May 2024 affair.

Facebook / Congressman Tony Gonzales

Her widower, Adrian Aviles, has charged that Gonzales “abused his power” by engaging in the affair with his subordinate.

Aviles has demanded that Gonzales, a married father of six, be held accountable for the affair. 

Several of his fellow House Republicans have also called on him to resign over the scandal. 

“There’s a whole lot more to the story, a lot more to the story that isn’t out there,” Gonzales said on “The Joe Pags Show.” 

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Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) is seen before the flag-draped casket bearing the remains of Hershel W. “Woody” Williams lying in honor in the US Capitol, Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Washington.

AP

“You know, some of the reports are saying that [Santos-Aviles] was not thriving at work. It’s the exact opposite. She was thriving at work,” the congressman claimed. 

Gonzales vehemently denied that he was at fault in Santos-Aviles’ death. 

“I hadn’t spoken with Miss Santos since June of 2024. She passed September of 2025 … I had absolutely nothing to do with her tragic passing. And in fact, I was shocked just as much as everyone else,” Gonzales said. 

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Gonzales vehemently denied that he was at fault in Santos-Aviles’ death. 

Regina Santos Aviles / Facebook

Gonzales, 45, will face fellow Republican Brandon Herrera in a May 26 runoff after failing to receive a majority of the votes in Texas’ 23rd District on Tuesday.

Herrera, who nearly beat Gonzales in the 2024 GOP primary, received nearly 1,000 more votes than the incumbent Tuesday night.

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Three girls rescued from sex trafficking in Southern Alberta

 

3 teenage girls rescued from sex trafficking situation in Lethbridge, charges laid

By Karen Bartko  Global News

Posted January 13, 2026 2:49 pm

 Updated January 13, 2026 7:39 pm

 3 min read

Three girls were rescued by police in Lethbridge from a forced confinement situation in which one of the girls was allegedly drugged and pimped out to several men over multiple days.

The Lethbridge Police Service said on Tuesday it has charged a man with unlawful confinement, sexual exploitation and human trafficking in connection with multiple incidents where vulnerable girls were targeted and sexually assaulted.

It stems from a call police received last month in the southern Alberta city.

On Dec. 19, 2025, police said officers responded to a report that a 14-year-old girl was being held in an apartment along the 500 block of 8 Street South.

Police said a man answered the door and the girl was located inside in medical distress. She was taken to hospital and the man arrested.

Police began searching the apartment and two other girls, aged 15 and 16, were found inside it.

The 14-year-old girl told police she had been forcibly confined and repeatedly sexually assaulted by both the man who was arrested and other men over a three-day period. During the raping, police said the girl was also forced to consume drugs.

The 15-year-old and 16-year-old were also forced to stay in the apartment for several hours, during which time the man exposed himself.

Skye Atoa, 50, of Lethbridge, is charged with trafficking of a person under 18, sexual assault of a child under 16, sexual interference, obtaining sexual services of a child for consideration, indecent exposure to a child under 16, sexual counsel of a child and three counts of unlawful confinement.

Based on the investigation and evidence to date, Lethbridge police believe there may be additional, unidentified victims.

Because of that, police released Atoa’s photograph in an effort to encourage other possible victims, who may not know the accused by name or may only know him by an alias, to come forward.

“Anytime we have these types of incidents it’s incredibly concerning, especially when they involve our vulnerable population, and we want to keep everyone in our city safe,” said Lethbridge police Staff Sgt. Ashlin Snowdon.

View image in full screen

Skye Atoa, 50, of Lethbridge, Alta. Lethbridge Police Service

In addition, Atoa is also charged in connection with a previous sexual assault in October 2025, where a 24-year-old woman police described as “vulnerable” was sexually assaulted at his place.

“The assault in October, we were actively investigating, and that investigation did take some time,” Snowdon said. “So while the accused was in custody, we’ve been in a position to lay additional charges in relation to that investigation.”

In that case, Atoa is charged with sexual assault and obtaining for consideration sexual services/communicating for the purpose of sexual services.

Atoa, who police said has been in custody since his arrest in mid-December, was granted bail following a court hearing on Monday. He is anticipated to be released from custody Tuesday on several conditions.

“Some of them includes not having any contact with the victims and witnesses and then not having communication or contact with persons under 18 years old,” Snowdon said.

Atoa’s next court appearance is Feb. 2.

Anyone who has been victimized, or has further information that may assist investigators, is asked to call police at 403-328-4444 and reference file 25059360.

Approaching Sodom > Anonymity tested in trial challenging Quebec school's policy of lying to trans student's parents

 

Montreal teacher challenges policy for trans students to hide identity from parents

By Erika Morris  The Canadian Press

Posted March 6, 2026 1:03 pm

 Updated March 6, 2026 2:33 pm

 3 min read

Quebec’s Superior Court heard arguments Friday in a case about a high school teacher who alleges her Charter rights were violated when she was ordered to hide a student’s gender identity from their parents.

The teacher, identified only through the initials A.B. in court documents, alleges she was asked to use masculine pronouns for the student during class and feminine ones with the student’s parents at risk of losing her job in 2023.

The court withheld the teacher’s name to protect the identity of the student in the case.

The teacher has taken the government to court, seeking to invalidate a provincial education policy that allows students 14 and up to change the name and pronouns used in school with or without parental consent.

The provincial Education Ministry introduced the policy in 2021 to ensure the inclusion of all people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions in schools.

The policy stresses that confidentiality is “extremely important.”

The teacher said the provincial policy left her feeling uncomfortable speaking to the parents about their child.

She also alleges the school’s instructions had violated her freedom of conscience and freedom of expression.

The court is now reviewing arguments about whether some witnesses providing statements in the case can remain anonymous, testing the limits of what’s in the public interest.

Two legal clinics, Juritrans and Our Duty Canada, are intervening in the case.

Our Duty lawyers collected affidavits from parents of transgender children across Canada and two adult women who detransitioned after starting a gender transition in high school.

The teacher’s lawyer, Olivier Séguin, argued the identity of all affiants should be withheld from court documents to ensure they do not rescind their testimony. Some also requested their testimony be for lawyers’ eyes only.

He said their perspectives are vital for the court to hear balanced positions and are of public interest. However, many only agreed to submit their testimony under condition of anonymity and “zero risk.”

According to Séguin, the affiants worry about their relationships with their children – whose medical histories and psychosocial information is detailed in the testimonies – and of negative repercussions given “the societal context” and sensitivity of the topic.

Juritrans disagrees with this approach, noting a judge already granted limited confidentiality for all trans minors in the case.

Juritrans lawyer Lex Gill said she would not be able to properly cross-examine witnesses if the judge approved the anonymity requests, which would extend to her clients.

Juristrans intervened in the case to represent the interests of transgender youths and students, including a minor who agreed to testify.

Gill said the clinic is “seeking to protect the constitutional rights of [those] directly affected by the policy” the teacher wants nullified.

She added there is “no legal standing” to grant anonymity to protect from “personal conflict, embarrassment and the usual stress of participating in court procedures” or to “instrumentalize” the personal information of third parties without their consent.

She is asking the judge to waive Séguin and Our Canada’s confidentiality requests, saying it goes against the spirit of public interest and the open court system.

The judge’s decision is expected to land in a few weeks.

The court has not yet set a date to hear arguments in the wider case.

Cardinal Ouellet suing alleged sex assault victim for defamation > He may wish he hadn't

 

Woman says she felt like a ‘prisoner’ during alleged 1992 event with Quebec cardinal

By Staff  The Canadian Press

Posted March 6, 2026 7:52 am

 Updated March 6, 2026 12:53 pm

 2 min read

A witness told a defamation trial on Friday she felt like a “prisoner” during a1992 encounter with Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet.

Marie-Louise Moreau testified that Ouellet came up behind her while she was preparing items for a mass in Montreal, put his hands on either side of her, and allegedly rubbed his pelvis against her behind.

“I was a prisoner,” she said. “I had to get away.”

Moreau, 84, was a witness in the Superior Court civil trial of Paméla Groleau, who is being sued for defamation by Ouellet after she named him in a class action alleging sexual misconduct by members of the Quebec City diocese.

Ouellet has launched a $100,000 defamation suit against Groleau, alleging that she damaged his reputation, honour and dignity. He has denied acting inappropriately with her or anyone else.

Moreau told the court that after she freed herself from Ouellet she ran out of the building. She said she never went back to any place she thought he might be, and would cross to the other side of the street when she passed the building for fear of meeting him.

The 84-year-old said she didn’t tell anyone about the encounter until 2023, after Groleau came forward publicly with accusations of misconduct against the cardinal.

“I have carried this for 34 years,” Moreau said.

Groleau’s allegations first surfaced in 2022 as part of a wider class-action lawsuit against the archdiocese of Quebec and dozens of its clergy or lay members. Groleau previously told the court that Ouellet touched her without her consent on three occasions, including one time when he allegedly he ran his hand down her back to the top of her buttocks in 2010.

Under cross-examination, she said that last event is the only one that she considers a sexual assault.

Unless Ouellet had intended to keep sliding his hand down her back and she somehow stopped him, then she has a pretty weak case for sexual assault. Moreau, on the otherhand, has a stronger case. 

The allegations in the class action have not been tested in court, and Ouellet has never been charged with a crime in relation to Groleau’s allegations.

Moreau told the court on Friday that her conscience prompted her to speak out after Groleau went public. “I knew someone had to know that she wasn’t alone,” she told the court.

She, like Groleau, has agreed to have her name published, waiving the publication ban that usually applies in cases involving sexual assault allegations.