Wenatchee Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Federal Prison for Distributing Child Pornography on the “Dark Web”

Spokane, Washington – On October 11, 2023, U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Michael Luis Ibarra, 36, of Wenatchee, Washington, to 12 years in federal prison for distributing images of child pornography on the “Dark Web.” Judge Rice also ordered Ibarra to serve the remainder of his life on federal supervision after he is released from prison. Ibarra was also ordered to pay a total of $114,000 in restitution to 38 individual victims of his conduct.

In January of 2021, Ibarra was identified as a user of a website on the “Dark Web” dedicated to the distribution of child pornography. Ibarra was commended at one point by website administrators for distributing a “herculean” quantity of child pornography. Ibarra communicated with undercover federal agents in chat rooms and shared with them child pornography on several occasions.

Ibarra’s electronic devices were seized at his home in Wenatchee and searched by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Agents found more than fifteen thousand child pornography files, with more than five thousand files depicting the sexual abuse of infants and toddlers.

“The FBI and the United States Attorney’s Office stand ready to respond with thorough investigations, vigorous prosecutions, and significant sentences for anyone who abuses children,” said Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District. “No sentence can give these children back their innocence; however, our community is safer with Mr. Ibarra behind bars. Today’s sentence sends a clear message to those who seek to victimize children, whether behind closed doors, through the dark web, or computer screens: the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our partners will continue to work tirelessly to seek justice, and the consequences of exploiting children will be severe.”

“Mr. Ibarra may have believed the Dark Web afforded him a level of protection from law enforcement” said Richard A. Collodi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office. “Thanks to the dedication of our investigators, we were able to bring his reprehensible activities to an end. The FBI and our partners will continue the work of protecting the most vulnerable of our citizens.”

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Michael J. Ellis, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, and Kyle P. Reynolds, Trial Attorney for the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the United States Department of Justice Criminal Division.

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