Man gets probation for contacting minor

A 59-year-old transient man was sentenced Monday to two years of formal probation for contacting a minor to commit a sexual offense.

Albert Daniel Ybarra appeared at the Superior Courthouse Monday before Judge Poli Flores for sentencing.

Ybarra was charged with contacting a minor to commit a sexual offense and one count of meeting a minor for lewd purposes.

Per the plea agreement he reached with the Imperial County District Attorney’s Office, the second charge was dropped.

The terms of Ybarra sentence require him to register as a sex offender while he is on probation.

The Imperial County Probation Department recommended that Ybarra register as a sex offender for the next 20 years.

However, both attorneys during Monday’s hearing requested that the judge limit the registration period to only two years, and Flores agreed.

Ybarra was arrested as part of a sting operation and there was no actual minor involved in the case. This information was revealed at an Aug. 27 court hearing.

A warrant was issued for Ybarra’s arrest, and Ybarra turned himself in on May, 7, 2020, at the Imperial County Jail.

He was booked on $100,000 bail. He posted bail on May 21, 2020, but was rearrested on Aug. 27 after failing to appear at a preliminary hearing. His bail was set at $25,000.

Prosecuting attorney Danny Granados reported at the Aug. 27 hearing that Ybarra was convicted in 1986 for bringing drugs into a jail or prison. He was also convicted for drug possession in 2006 and again in 2016 for an undisclosed charge.

Ybarra reportedly has been homeless for the four years.

Although he was ordered to stay in the Valley until the end of his probation, his attorney, Raj Singh, explained that Ybarra will ask to be transported to Pomona sometime in the future.