Rexburg man sentenced for role in Idaho Falls sex-trafficking scheme

IDAHO FALLS – A 23-year-old Rexburg man was sentenced after pleading guilty to rape on Wednesday.

District Judge Dane Watkins Jr. sentenced Isaac Anthony Ybarra to nine to 24 years in prison.

Ybarra was charged with one count of felony rape – preventing resistance with threat, harm and intoxication, in June 2021.

He originally pleaded not guilty but accepted a plea agreement in June 2022, where he agreed to plead guilty to the charge if three other cases were dropped.

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The dropped charges included felony rape of a victim who is 16 or 17 years of age, felony causing or permitting a child to engage or be used in child sexually exploitative material, felony possession of a controlled substance, misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance, misdemeanor consuming or possession an alcoholic beverage while driving, and misdemeanor battery.

The prosecution also agreed to not file any charges that were to arise out of a Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office report of malicious injury to property.

Sentencing

During sentencing, Bonneville County Chief Deputy Prosecutor John Dewey argued for a lengthy prison sentence, saying that Ybarra has anti-social personality disorder and takes no blame for his actions.

“He lays the blame on the juvenile females for what happened,” said Dewey. “The nature of this offense is incredibly aggravating, such that the court should consider not only prison but a lengthy prison sentence.”

Ybarra’s defense attorney, Manuel Murdoch, told the court that Ybarra deserves punishment but nothing more than what is necessary.

“The future belongs in the hands of Mr. Ybarra. Mr. Ybarra is going to decide what the rest of his life is going to look like. He is going to decide whether he derives any benefit from the treatment that is going to be offered to him,” said Murdoch. “I believe it would be useful to come up with a point or something along the lines of, let him get treatment, but don’t require him to be in incarceration for longer than that treatment requires.”

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Ybarra read a prepared statement to the court before sentencing, saying that he was “not a monster.”

“I’m young and honestly immature on many levels. That’s no excuse,” said Ybarra. “I know wrong from right, and I chose wrong.”

Ybarra continued by asking the court for mercy and addressing his victim.

“Once released, I will prove I’m a better person and will continue to grow,” said Ybarra. “I also want to apologize to my victim for my selfishness, and I hope in time, she can find forgiveness for me. Sorry.”

Background

In January 2021, Idaho Falls police received reports that Ybarra had met with teenage girls from a group home to give them tattoos but asked for sex instead of money.

Idaho Falls Police officers spoke with one of the 17-year-old girls who had reportedly received a tattoo from Ybarra and had been raped. Initially, she declined to speak with investigators.

The girl eventually disclosed that she went to the motel with another 15-year-old group home resident to receive tattoos from Ybarra. The 17-year-old said Ybarra wanted to exchange the tattoos for a sexual favor, but she said she would pay him money.

Once at the hotel, the 17-year-old explained they smoked “dabs” or a highly concentrated marijuana extract she knew to be laced with heroin. The girl also suspected Ybarra laced the “dabs” with “roofies” because she was coming in and out of consciousness, according to court documents.

The 17-year-old says Ybarra first raped the 15-year-old girl. The 17-year-old then said Ybarra raped her and thought Ybarra took a photo of her when she saw a camera flash.

When investigators first spoke with witnesses in January, they described the 17-year-old talking about selling girls for drugs and money. The 17-year-old reportedly kept 90% of the proceeds, with 10% going to the girls she allegedly trafficked. The 17-year-old told police she was an ex-human trafficker and had not done so in over a year.

Police served a search warrant on Ybarra’s phone and found he asked the 17-year-old to send him a nude photo, which she did. Messages also showed Ybarra mentioned he wanted to smoke and receive sexual favors. Because of the sexually explicit photo, Ybarra was charged with sexual exploitation of a minor.

Ybarra told police he met up with the girls to give them tattoos but said they forced themselves on him, and everything was “consensual.”