Robin Vanderwall

Robin Vanderwall, a Republican Party activist and law student at Regent University in Virginia City, VA, was convicted in April 2004 on five counts of computer solicitation of a minor and one count of attempted indecent liberties with a child. According to a news release issued by the state attorney general at the time of his conviction, he was convicted "as a result of an undercover investigation that involved Virginia Beach Police officers pretending to be three different 13-year-old boys in Internet chat rooms between November 2002 and January 2003."

Prior to his arrest, Vanderwall was also director of the Faith and Family Alliance, a political advocacy founded by associates of former Christian Coalition director Ralph Reed. Vanderwall acted as a conduit for funds that were channeled to Reed's lobbying firm as payment for some of Reed's services on behalf of lobbyist Jack Abramoff. "In a telephone interview," the Washington Post reported in October 2005, "Vanderwall said that in July 2000 he was called by Reed's firm, Century Strategies, alerting him that he would be receiving a package. When it came, it contained a check payable to Vanderwall's group for $150,000 from Americans for Tax Reform, signed by Norquist. Vanderwall said he followed the instructions from Reed's firm -- depositing the money and then writing a check to Reed's firm for an identical amount."

"I was operating as a shell," Vanderwall said, adding that he was never told how the money was spent. He said: "I regret having had anything to do with it."