56-year-old man faces 10 felonies for allegedly possessing child porn
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IDAHO FALLS — A 56-year-old man is facing multiple felonies after allegedly possessing child pornography and reportedly telling detectives he preferred viewing girls that were “8 to 10” years old.
Dallas K Ziebarth has been charged with 10 felonies for willfully possessing or accessing child sexually exploitative material.
According to a probable cause filed by the Idaho Falls Police Department, on April 4, a detective investigated cyber tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The tips included pornographic material showing children being sexually abused.
The IP address associated with the tips traced back to Ziebarth at his address in Idaho Falls.
During the investigation, the detective learned the most recent upload of child sexual abuse material was on April 22.
On May 4, the detective and members of the Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force served a warrant. They stopped Ziebarth on his way to work and interviewed him.
During the interview, Ziebarth said he had been downloading and viewing images of child pornography for many years, documents said. He told officers he had not gone to work on May 3 and had downloaded and viewed images of children being abused that day.
Ziebarth said he had used an old computer at his house to download and save the images, court documents said. He explained he preferred child pornography with girls that were preteen, ages 8 to 10.
During the search of his residence, a small black computer was found in an office. The computer showed hundreds of pictures of child sexual abuse material in the recycle bin.
There were also several pictures in a computer folder. Some of the pictures included children as young as five years old.
Attorney General Raúl Labrador announced in a news release that investigators with his Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit arrested Ziebarth.
The Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations and the Bonneville County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office all assisted the ICAC Unit with the arrest.
“Our ICAC investigators continue to do incredible work protecting children across the state. I’m proud of their commitment to this difficult but important task,” Labrador said in a news release.
Anyone with information regarding the exploitation of children is encouraged to contact local police, the Attorney General’s ICAC Unit at (208) 947-8700, or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at (800) 843-5678.
Ziebarth was booked into the Bonneville County jail with a $150,000 bond. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on May 16 at 1 p.m. at the Bonneville County courthouse.
Though Ziebarth has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.
Each charge has a max penalty of up to 10 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.