A Pinal County man, James Ibach, has been sentenced to 40 years flat time in the Department of Corrections after being convicted of multiple counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and related offenses.
After serving his prison term, Ibach will be placed on lifetime probation and required to register as a sex offender. The sentencing took place on March 17, 2025, in Pinal County
Superior Court.
According to the Pinal County Attorney’s Office, on June 1, 2023, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) received a cyber tip that led to a search of Ibach’s residence.
PCSO found electronic devices which contained hundreds of videos of children engaging in sexual acts. The ages of the children in the videos ranged from less than 2 years to 14 years old. Defendant fled to Colorado after finding out about the search of his home so the Pinal County Attorney’s Office requested an arrest warrant.
In November 2023, the Defendant was arrested in Mesa for an unrelated crime. While in the Mesa City Jail, the Defendant called his mother and admitted that he was guilty of the exploitation charges. He posted bond and was released where he again began to download Child Sexual Abuse Material. PCSO again executed a search warrant on his residence and found additional devices with sexual acts involving young children. He was arrested and this time held without bond.
“Those who exploit children by producing, distributing, or possessing child sexual abuse material will be held accountable. These crimes are not victimless – every image, every video represents an innocent child, whose innocence was stolen and whose trauma is perpetrated every time that violent content is shared. My office is committed to pursuing justice for these victims and for those who seek to harm and exploit innocent children,” County Attorney Miller said. “I commend the diligence of the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office and Prosecutor Jesse Navarro and thank them for their dedication to this difficult and meaningful work for public safety in Arizona,” Miller stated. Miller ended with, “I will continue to fight for children with tough on crime policies that will make a safer Pinal County.”
