An Arizona City man wanted on a sexual exploitation of children charge was recently arrested in Mesa and has been transported to the Pinal County Jail.

The suspect, James Ibach, 40, was involved in dangerous crimes against children involving child sexual exploitation, according to a post and video by PCSO Sheriff Mark Lamb on Facebook @PinalCountySO.

On June 1, PCSO internet crimes against children detectives received an emergency report regarding a sexual exploitation of children case involving Ibach. A search warrant was executed on Ibach’s residence in Arizona City, according to PCSO.

“Ibach was tipped off to the nature of our investigation by those close to him and left the residence prior to PCSO arrival. During the investigation that followed, PCSO detectives located multiple devices owned by Ibach containing hundreds of child sexual abuse images and videos. There was evidence that Ibach had created some of the material,” the PCSO post on Facebook states.

On Nov. 12, Ibach was contacted by the Mesa Police Department in connection with trespassing, it states.

“During the encounter, Ibach provided paper credentials that identified him as someone else. Ibach’s true identity was confirmed through fingerprint analysis and he was found to have a grand jury warrant from the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office for sexual exploitation of a minor. The Mesa Police Department booked Ibach into jail for the warrant and the new charge of taking the identity of another. Ibach was then charged by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office with criminal impersonation and sentenced to two years supervised probation. On Dec. 21, 2023, Ibach was transported to the Pinal County Jail to face his charges in Pinal County,” it states in the Facebook post.

Suspect James Ibach information from https://app1.pinal.gov/search/Inmate-Details.aspx?id=003403777. (PCSO)