No Charges Filed against Senate Staffer Who Filmed Sex Tape in Hearing Room, Capitol Police Announce

The Senate staffer who filmed a sex tape inside of the Senate Hart Office Building in December will escape criminal charges, as will his partner, the Capitol Police announced Thursday.

Aidan Maese-Czeropski, a 24-year-old former legislative aide to Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, was fired after a recording of the sex act circulated online. Capital Police began an investigation shortly after the Spectator broke the story.

“After consulting with federal and local prosecutors, as well as doing a comprehensive investigation and review of possible charges, it was determined that — despite a likely violation of Congressional policy — there is currently no evidence that a crime was committed,” Capitol Police said Thursday. “Although the hearing room was not open to the public at the time, the Congressional staffer involved had access to the room. The two people of interest were not cooperative, nor were the elements of any of the possible crimes met.”

Although he refused to talk with police, Maese-Czeropski said on his LinkedIn last year that the allegations rocked his personal life and accused his many critics of being motivated by homophobia.

“This has been a difficult time for me, as I have been attacked for who I love to pursue a political agenda. While some of my actions in the past have shown poor judgement, I love my job and would never disrespect my workplace,” Maese-Czeropski said. “Any attempts to characterize my actions otherwise are fabricated and I will be exploring what legal options are available to me in these matters.”

Police investigated whether or not the two men in the video broke any laws including trespassing or obscenity. Attorney Jonathan Turley said in December that possible criminal charges were limited.

“In the controversy involving Maese-Czeropski, the video was posted to a private group for gay men and the owner identified himself as a ‘twink’ engaging in sex acts with his older ‘bear’ partner. The group posting does not suggest a private intimate video shared between a couple,” Turkey said. “The site does not appear to generate revenue, which could have bearing on potential charges discussed above. Using the congressional space for commercial purposes can factor into possible charges.”