Somerton man charged in indecent exposure incidents with minors
A 45-year-old Somerton man is facing 12 felony offenses for allegedly performing sexual acts on himself in front of three underage females, and sexually assaulting a 6-year-old child in a separate incident.
Jose Luis Ibarra is currently being held in the Yuma County jail on a $200,000 cashonly bond. He has since been indicted in Yuma County Superior Court on four counts of aggravated assault with sexual motivation and three counts of public indecency to a minor.
Ibarra has also been charged with three counts of indecent exposure to a minor and one count each of attempted child molestation and luring a minor for sexual exploitation.
According to Somerton police, at approximately 12:25 a.m. on June 11, officers responded to the area of the 700 block of E. Angelica Street, where it was reported that a male subject was masturbating in front of three underage females.
Officers were able to locate the suspect once they arrived on scene. However, while officers were conducting a preliminary investigation, the suspect fell ill and was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
Then, four days later, on June 15, Somerton police officers were dispatched to the 800 block of E. Angelica Street at about 5:16 p.m. in reference to a report of a man pulling a 6-year-old child’s pants down, and asking the child to touch him in the groin.
Somerton police said a relative of the 6-year-old child who witnessed the incident, intervened and called 911. When officers arrived on the scene the suspect, now identified as Ibarra, had fled the area. Ibarra was identified by the relative of the 6-year-old.
It was then that officers learned Ibarra was allegedly the same suspect involved in the June 11 incident in the 700 block of Angelica Street.
Ibarra later came to the Somerton Police Department where he was questioned about both incidents. After denying he had been involved, Ibarra was released without charges pending further investigation.
As part of the Somerton police’s investigation, detectives and staff from Amberly’s Place interviewed the four underage victims from both of the incidents.
Ibarra was arrested on June 16 and booked into the Yuma County jail at 5:15 p.m. and arraigned on June 20. Ibarra, who remains in custody, is also known as Jose Roberto Soto.