U.S. Airman Impersonated Teen, Paid 9-Year-Old Girl for Explicit Material: Prosecutors

An active-duty senior airman in the U.S. Air Force allegedly solicited a 9-year-old girl to send him sexually explicit imagery, even offering her money in exchange, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. 

David Ibarra, 31, who is stationed in Anchorage, Alaska, was brought to federal court on Long Island Wednesday morning, March 26, on charges of sexual exploitation of a child, coercion and enticement, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE. 

In August 2024, Ibarra allegedly pretended to be a 13-year-old boy named “Dave” and coerced a 9-year-old girl to text him sexually explicit photographs and videos of herself, prosecutors say. When law enforcement reviewed the girl’s phone, they found 17 separate Apple Pay payments, totaling $191, from Ibarra. 

Ibarra first contacted the girl on TikTok and asked her to add him on Roblox so they could talk more, prosecutors say. He then allegedly pressured the girl to send him more images over text and directed her what to do in the photos. 

On Aug. 29, 2024, Ibarra allegedly texted her “Can we be a little dirty before we go to sleep? Pls and I’ll send money…” Later that day, he allegedly asked her to “take your spandex off…and rub it again and show me more of it.”

That same day, he allegedly messaged her, “Can I see it again and can you open it with your fingers.”

U.S. District Court Judge John Durham ordered Ibarra be incarcerated pending trial, writing in a detention letter that Ibarra was involved in “the most serious federal crimes, involving the sexual exploitation of children.”

Ibarra, whom Durham deemed a flight risk, could face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 to 30 years in prison.

“The defendant’s abusive behavior is even more dangerous because it was focused on some of the most vulnerable members of the community – pre-teen girls,” Durham wrote. “By encouraging and, in some cases, coercing these children to create exploitative images of themselves for him, he has undoubtedly caused them great, and possibly irreparable, psychological harm.”

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.