A First Circuit Court jury found Jefferson Manuales Ibalio, 35, guilty of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of a Minor.
This conviction arises from Operation Keiki Shield, which is spearheaded by the Hawaiʻi Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. Ibalio was arrested as part of a January 20, 2023 operation for soliciting sex from an undercover law enforcement officer posing online as a 16-year-old female. According to the Felony Information, Ibalio offered the law enforcement officer, who represented as 16 years old, $200 in exchange for sex.
Commercial Sexual Exploitation of a Minor is a class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Ibalio must also register as a sex offender.
“Those who prey on children are among the greatest public-safety threats we face in Hawaiʻi,” said Attorney General Anne Lopez. “The ICAC Task Force and my Department’s Special Investigation and Prosecution Division have ensured that Mr. Ibalio will be held responsible for his conduct.”
“We will continue to protect our keiki against the predatory actions of child predators. No endeavor could be greater or more important,” said ICAC Supervisory Special Agent Edward Arias of the Department of the Attorney General.
First Circuit Court Judge Shanlyn Park scheduled Ibalio’s sentencing for August 27, 2024.
The case is State v. Ibalio, 1CPC-23-0000089. Deputy Attorney General Cheuk Fu Lui of the Special Investigation and Prosecution Division was the lead prosecutor on the case. The jury deliberated for approximately one-and-a-half hours before returning a guilty verdict.