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Embattled Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) made explicit sexual requests to his late congressional staffer who repeatedly resisted, according to text messages obtained by 24Sight News from a forensic extraction of Santos-Aviles' phone conducted as part of an active legal claim by her widower's attorney. The messages add to a growing body of evidence of an alleged improper relationship — allegations Gonzales denied as recently as last week.
Santos-Aviles died on September 14, 2025, after sustaining injuries from a fire in her backyard in Uvalde. The county medical examiner determined her death was the result of self-immolation.
The messages show the exchange beginning around midnight in May 2024, with Gonzales asking Santos-Aviles to send him a “sexy pic.” She deflected, writing that her “life has been a Telenovela for the past seven days” and that he didn’t “really want a hot picture” of her. When Gonzales responded that he was “just such a visual person,” Santos-Aviles declined again, saying she didn’t like taking pictures of herself.
As the conversation continued, Gonzales asked about sexual preferences and positions. The messages indicate Santos-Aviles repeatedly pushed back. “This is going too far, boss,” she wrote at 12:50 AM.
She also asked whether Gonzales had hired her because of her appearance, which he denied. When Gonzales pressed further with an explicit sexual question, Santos-Aviles pushed back again, writing: “never.”
Gonzales, a married father of six, represents a southern border district. Santos-Aviles was also married and the mother of a young child.
Attorney Bobby Barrera, who represents Santos-Aviles’ widower Adrien Aviles, said in an interview last week that the power dynamics between Gonzales and Santos-Aviles point to improper coercion.
“What one person may say is a simple question, someone else may interpret as coercion, because, guess what, it’s coming from your boss requesting that you do something that is not particularly proper, as in, send him pictures or meet him at particular locations,” he told CBS News.
A former Gonzales staffer who worked alongside Santos-Aviles in the district, and who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told 24Sight News last Monday that Santos-Aviles had confided in them about the alleged relationship. The source said they were the only other staffer based with Santos-Aviles from June 2024 until her death, and described themselves as the person closest to her in the office.
“She told me everything,” the source said. “Regina always told me that he came onto her first.”
Multiple sources have also claimed there was a toxic work environment within the Gonzales office. 24Sight News spoke with two former female staffers who said they received text messages from Gonzales that, while not overtly sexual, made them uncomfortable during the course of their employment.
Another individual close to the Santos-Aviles family, who spoke directly with her, told 24Sight News in October that the late staffer had confided in them about the alleged relationship.
“She said, ‘I need your advice — I’ve really screwed up,’” the individual said. “It’s a very tragic situation because, in my opinion, Tony took advantage of a young woman without regard for the consequences.”
The former district staffer also told 24Sight News that during Gonzales’ 2024 runoff campaign, Gonzales and Santos-Aviles allegedly made at least two visits to a rental cabin in Concan, Texas owned by the staffer’s family, arranged as a place for the congressman to rest between campaign events. The source asserted they were not aware of the alleged relationship at the time.
“I ended up setting up the whole thing. In hindsight, it’s embarrassing, because they used it as a place to hook up,” the source said. “I just accidentally facilitated it.”
The former staffer also alleged that Gonzales leveraged his position to advance Santos-Aviles, selecting her community projects for federal funding and elevating her profile above other regional staff.
“He definitely used his power and his position in the office to coerce her,” the source continued. “He put her on a pedestal and he got something out of it.”
The Daily Mail first reported allegations of a relationship between Gonzales and Santos-Aviles in October 2025. Barrera told 24Sight News last week that the alleged relationship came to light around June 2024, when Aviles discovered evidence that Gonzales and Santos-Aviles had allegedly spent time together in the weeks prior.
Barrera said the discovery of the alleged affair strained the marriage. Adrien Aviles wanted his wife to resign from her position in Gonzales’ office, the attorney added, but Santos-Aviles declined, wanting to finish the community projects she had been working on. The alleged affair ultimately led the couple to separate, according to Barrera.
On June 1, 2024, Adrien Aviles sent a text message from his wife's phone to a handful of Gonzales staffers and individuals associated with the office, informing them of the alleged affair, according to screenshots obtained by 24Sight News.
“Just a heads up this is Adrian Aviles, Regina's soon to be ex husband,” he wrote. “I just wanted to inform all of you that we will be getting a divorce after my discovery of text messages and pictures, that she's been having an affair on me with your boss Tony Gonzales for some time now.”
Santos-Aviles had no documented history of mental health struggles before the alleged relationship began, Barrera told CBS News.
“The deterioration of her mental state was exacerbated by the conduct Tony engaged in, the workplace harassment after the discovery of the affair,” he told the outlet.
Gonzales has repeatedly denied having a sexual relationship with Santos-Aviles. He is in a tight primary race against Brandon Herrera, a YouTube personality and gun store owner who narrowly lost to him in a 2024 runoff.
In a statement to CNN on Thursday, Gonzales called the allegations political smears orchestrated by his opponent.
“Ms. Santos-Aviles was a kind soul who devoted her life to making the community a better place. Her efforts led to improvements in school safety, healthcare, and rural water like never before,” he said. “It’s shameful that Brandon Herrera is using a disgruntled former staffer to smear her memory and score political points, conveniently pushing this out the very day early voting started. I am not going to engage in these personal smears and instead will remain focused on helping President Trump secure the border and improve the lives of all Texans.”
When Gonzales posted to X on February 19 claiming he would “not be blackmailed” and that people were profiting “politically and financially off a tragic death,” Aviles responded directly, writing: “We have never blackmailed anyone. What we’ve seen instead is a consistent pattern of evasion, refusal to take accountability, and outright lies to protect your image. You’re a classic case of a two-faced politician who says whatever is convenient to save face.”
Aviles also addressed Gonzales’ call for full release of the Uvalde police report, saying the decision to withhold it had nothing to do with protecting the congressman and everything to do with protecting his son.
“We chose to hold back the full police report and body cam footage for one reason only, it shows my wife suffering severe burns in horrific detail,” he wrote. “I will not allow that graphic material to become accessible to our 8 year old son in the future when he is old enough to search for or come across it. Nothing in that police report protects you, that decision is about protecting our child’s well-being, not concealing anything improper.”
Barrera rejected Gonzales’ characterization of the legal claim as extortion.
“Any claim of extortion implies that he actually did something wrong and that we want money to keep our mouth shut,” he told CBS News. “But what he’s failed to acknowledge is that he had this affair. It shocks the conscience that he would do this, with the exception that he’s trying to play the victim once again.”
In a subsequent post on X at 3:46 AM on Feb. 22, Gonzales wrote that during his six years in Congress not a single formal complaint had been levied against his office, and dismissed the allegations as coordinated political attacks days before the election.
Aviles responded: “This isn’t ‘coordinated political attacks. This is exposing the real Tony Gonzales, this is tragedy you helped create, and you refuse to own it. I’m sure others stayed silent in fear of your power, but I fear no man but God. My 8 year old son will grow up knowing what a real man of honor looks like. I’m exposing your disgust as my duty to him, and in memory of Regina, who deserved better than your abuse of power. You don’t deserve the responsibility of being a congressman or a leader. Texans deserve a leader with integrity, not a coward.”
Aviles concluded by calling on President Donald Trump to pull his endorsement of Gonzales.
Gonzales is also facing a House Ethics inquiry. A House GOP leadership aide told CBS News that “leadership is waiting and watching to see what happens with Tony Gonzales,” adding that there are currently no retractions in endorsements or support.
Gonzales and his office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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