A registered sex offender is serving as Vice Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s Latino Caucus and as the campaign manager for a Democratic state lawmaker. Diego A. Rodriguez was convicted of using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime after he tried to meet up with an undercover officer posing as a teenage boy on the gay dating app Grindr. Rodriguez was working as a youth leader at a church in Racine at the time.
The Hispanic News Network first reported that Rodriguez, 32, has been working as campaign manager and political consultant for Democerat Milwaukee Rep. Priscilla Prado as she runs for re-election in the 9th Assembly District. He has canvassed for Ismael Luna, the Democratic nominee in the neighboring 8th Assembly District on Milwaukee’s south side.
Rodriguez is an extremely active, connected member of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and currently co-chairs its Latino Caucus. According to Rodriguez’s LinkedIn profile, he also “serves as the Coalition Coordinator for Justice Forward Wisconsin.”
“He is dedicated to ensuring that people who are most impacted by our system are able to advocate for a system that is rooted in empathy and data to promote public safety,” his profile boasts.
Rodriguez himself was impacted by the justice system in 2015, when he pleaded guilty in Waukesha County in 2015 to one felony count of using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime. As part of an agreement with prosecutors, three misdemeanor counts of having sex with a child 16 or older were dismissed under a plea agreement but were read into the record at sentencing.
In April 2016, Rodriguez was sentenced to five years in prison and five years of extended supervision. He was required to register as a sex offender and has been listed on Wisconsin’s sex offender registry since January 22, 2016. His sex offender registration is scheduled to end June 3, 2040.
FOX 6 Milwaukee reported in 2015 that Rodriguez was working as a youth leader at Apostolic Faith Church in Racine when he met a 16-year-old boy on the dating app Grindr and had sexual relations with him in Rodriguez’s home as well as in an alley behind a Target store in Waukesha.
Investigators said Rodriguez began chatting on Grindr with someone he believed was a 15-year-old named Dustin, but was actually an undercover Waukesha Police detective. During the course of their conversation on the app, “Dustin” warned Rodriguez that the relationship could land him in jail.
Investigators said Rodriguez continued the conversations and arranged a meeting at a Wendy’s on Moreland Boulevard. He was arrested in a nearby parking lot.
Rodriguez has been very active in Democratic Party circles, especially in Milwaukee’s Latino community. Pictures posted to social media show him posing with prominent Democrats, including Congresswoman Gwen Moore and liberal judge and Supreme Court candidate Pedro Colon.
The official Democratic Party of Wisconsin Instagram page features a picture of him prominently featured at a David Crowley victory party following Crowley’s win in the August 11 Democratic primary. Earlier that day, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin Latino Caucus posted a video of Rodriguez canvassing for votes in Milwaukee and urging others to come join him.
Rodriguez’s LinkedIn profile lists him as the principal consultant for Adelante Collective, whose only client is Rep. Prado. She was first elected in 2024 and is seeking reelection in 2026. Hispanic News Network also reported that Rodriguez was canvassing Luna ahead of his victory over incumbent Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez in the August Democratic primary and faces Republican Angel Sanchez in the Nov. 3 general election.
