Air Force Member Charged With Sexual Exploitation of LI Child, 9: DOJ

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — An Anchorage, Alaska Air Force member was arraigned in federal court in Central Islip Wednesday and charged with the sexual exploitation of a Suffolk County girl, 9, federal officials said.

According to the John Durham, United States Attorney, Eastern District of New York, David Ibarra, 31, was arraigned on an indictment charging him with sexual exploitation of a child, coercion, and enticement. He is accused of paying the child to send him sexually explicit photos and videos of herself, the United States Department of Justice said.

Ibarra, an active-duty senior airman in the United States Air Force, was initially charged by complaint in February 2025 and ordered detained in Anchorage, Alaska, before his transfer to the Eastern District of New York, the DOJ said.

Wednesday's proceeding was held before United States District Court Judge Joanna Seybert, who ordered the defendant detained pending trial, the DOJ said.

Durham and Leslie Backschies, acting assistant director in charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York field office, announced the charges.

As set forth in court filings, law enforcement identified Ibarra from cell phone records obtained for an individual who was communicating, via text message, with a 9-year-old girl living in Suffolk County and soliciting sexually explicit images and videos from her in exchange for money, the DOJ said.

Ibarra, who claimed to be a 13-year-old boy named "Dave" living in Texas, repeatedly pressured the victim to send him more images and gave her specific directions as to what sexually explicit poses he wanted her to record, including, "'Can we be a little dirty before we go to sleep? Pls and I’ll send money,'" the DOJ said.

Ibarra made about 17 payments to the victim’s Apple Pay account totaling $191 to induce her to continue producing sexually explicit images for his gratification, the DOJ said.

The prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims, the DOJ said.

Ibarra is represented by Evan Sugar, who did not immediately return a request for comment.

"As alleged, the defendant, a 31-year-old man posing as a 13-year-old boy, manipulated a vulnerable child into producing and sending him sexually explicit images and videos of herself via text message in exchange for money," Durham said. "My office will continue its relentless pursuit of sexual predators who target children and work to secure lengthy prison sentences in these cases to protect our community and children from such conduct."

"As alleged in the indictment, this individual targeted and then repeatedly coerced a child into sending him sexually explicit photos and videos of herself — produced at his specific direction — in exchange for money," Backschies said. "The FBI is committed to finding and arresting the monsters who prey on vulnerable children, and we will continue to work with our partners to ensure these predators are off the streets and behind bars where they can no longer pose a danger to our communities."