Butte County Man Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation of a Child

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Javier Robert Barraza, 43, of Oroville, pleaded guilty on April 18, 2025, to sexual exploitation of a child, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.

According to court documents, Barraza paid multiple women to sexually abuse young boys during video calls with him for his own sexual gratification. Barraza recorded these video calls, adding them to his collection of more than 1,000 videos and images of child pornography that he maintained on his phones and tablet. Barraza also shared his child pornography on internet sharing platforms and in text messages to individuals.

This case is the product of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Redding Police Department, the Butte County Sheriff's Office, and the U.S. Forest Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Veronica M.A. Alegría is prosecuting the case.

Barraza is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins on Aug. 29, 2025. Barraza faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet-safety education.