Gila River Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison

           PHOENIX – Today, Manuel Ybarra Garcia, 41, of Sacaton, Ariz., a member of the Gila River Indian Community, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Douglas L. Rayes to 180 months in prison followed by lifetime supervised release. Garcia pleaded guilty on Dec. 9, 2014, to abusive sexual contact of a minor.  The crime occurred on the Gila River Indian Reservation.

            This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

             The investigation in this case was conducted by the Gila River Police Department. The prosecution was handled by Raynette Logan, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

CASE NUMBER:           CR-14-00888-PHX-DLR

RELEASE NUMBER:   2015-033_Garcia