Sherwood Man Sentenced to More Than 29 Years in Federal Prison for Production of Child Pornography

LITTLE ROCK-Giovanni Ibarra will spend 350 months in federal prison for production of child pornography. Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the sentence, which was handed down on February 12, 2026, by United States District Judge James M. Moody, Jr.

On October 9, 2024, Ibarra, 27, of Sherwood, was indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of production of child pornography and three counts for distribution and attempted distribution of child pornography. On July 28, 2025, Ibarra, pleaded guilty to production of child pornography. Judge Moody also sentenced Ibarra to 10 years' supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

An investigation revealed that on September 5, 2024, a CyberTipline Report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was received by the Arkansas Attorney General's Office. The tip referenced video files uploaded to the KIK social media platform on May 19, 2024, and June 10, 13, and 20, 2024. Some of the videos depicted adults performing sex acts on children, including an infant.

Agents subpoenaed records from the internet provider relating to the CyberTipline Reports and on August 29, 2024, learned the name of the subscriber. During the investigation, agents discovered on September 23, 2024, a Facebook page belonging to the subscriber that contained images of the infant victim agents observed in some of the videos uploaded to KIK. On September 24, 2024, agents conducted surveillance of the subscriber's Sherwood residence and observed two males exiting the residence and entering a vehicle. They then drove to a local retail establishment in Sherwood with one of the males wearing all black with cat ears on his head. After further review of the subscriber's Facebook page, agents identified the male observed in the establishment as Ibarra.

Agents contacted the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to determine a list of individuals who receive mail at the Sherwood residence. Ibarra was identified as one of the individuals receiving mail at the residence. At the time of his arrest, Ibarra consented to an interview with agents and a search of his phone. Ibarra admitted to agents that he uploaded the videos to KIK and the infant in one of the videos was a child who he knew. Ibarra also admitted that he shared the videos on KIK because people always ask for that type of content. He further admitted to watching the video involving the infant and then deleting it because he knew it was not okay.

"Giovanni Ibarra is a despicable human being who took advantage of vulnerable children to satisfy his wicked sexual desires," stated Ross. "This defendant did not care about the harm he inflicted upon these children and their families, but as demonstrated by the excellent work on this investigation, our law enforcement partners do. This sentence serves as a warning to others that if you commit heinous acts against children, our office will seek to have you sent to federal prison for the greatest length of time as the law will allow."

"This investigation and the resulting sentence highlight Homeland Security Investigations' steadfast commitment to combating child exploitation and ensuring that sexual predators like Ibarra are brought to justice. Through our strong partnerships with the Arkansas Attorney General's Office, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and other law enforcement partners, HSI will continue to leverage every available resource to protect children and hold offenders accountable," said Acting Special Agent in Charge Matt Wright of Homeland Security Investigations New Orleans.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice and led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), it 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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc. Parents are encouraged to always monitor your children's online activity.

The investigation was conducted by the Arkansas Attorney General's Office, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristin Bryant.

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