Southern California

Man Accused of Photographing Girls in SoCal Charged With Child Porn

Police say he was caught in the act in Beaumont, but may have done the same in other cities.

A Beaumont man accused of taking pictures of unsuspecting underage victims in Beaumont and elsewhere in Southern California was charged with possession of child pornography Thursday.

James Nicholas Ibach, 30, was arrested Tuesday at his home in the 1100 block of Dadash Street, where investigators say they seized "various data storage devices," which Ibach allegedly admitted contained "numerous photographs and videos depicting child pornography."

The investigation into Ibach began on July 24, when a witness told police that a man was seen taking pictures or recording video of a young girl while she was bent over at a Beaumont department store in the 1500 block of E. Second Street Marketplace.

"The witness began yelling and questioning the subject, at which time the subject quickly left the business," Beaumont police said.

Police obtained a description of the man, plus surveillance footage from the store's cameras. Weeks later, Beaumont police received word from another unidentified Southern Californian law enforcement agency that a Beaumont man, later identified as Ibach, "was involved in a similar case in their city," police said.

Investigators believe there may be additional victims. Anyone who is, or may know a victim, was asked to contact the Beaumont Police Department at 951-769-8500 or crimetips@beaumontpd.org to report anonymously.

Ibach, who was being held on $30,000 bail, is due in a Banning courtroom Thursday afternoon.

Copyright CNS - City News Service
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