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David Ibarra, 31, was arraigned Wednesday in a New York federal
court after being arrested in February in Anchorage, Alaska,
where he was serving on active duty in the Air Force,
prosecutors said in a statement.
A judge ordered him to be held pending trial on charges
including sexual exploitation of a child. Ibarra's lawyer did
not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ibarra was serving as an air transportation specialist Senior
Airmen, which mainly manage cargo, according to an Air Force
spokesperson.
Prosecutors say the girl, who lives on Long Island, a suburban
region east of New York City, met the man on TikTok in August
and he asked her to communicate with him on Roblox, telling her
he was a 13-year-old boy living in Texas.
He allegedly got the girl to text him from her phone and
eventually directed her to create explicit videos and images,
while sending her money via Apple Pay.
Ibarra paid her $191 in a series of 17 transactions, prosecutors
allege.
The girl's mother eventually became aware of the messages.
Posing as an older sister, she garnered more information about
the sender by texting him from her own phone, and he ultimately
sent her a selfie revealing part of his face, according to the
indictment.
Investigators used Ibarra's El Paso, Texas-based phone number
and searched his iCloud account to confirm his identity,
according to prosecutors.
Under interrogation the 31-year-old allegedly admitted to paying
the girl for the images, saying he thought the victim was 12.
Prosecutors say he acknowledged coercing other girls into
sending explicit images as well, including one in New Jersey.
Ibarra has been “in an unpaid status” since his arrest, Air
Force spokesperson Erin Eaton said via email. It is not clear
what other military discipline he could face.
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