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Investigation Leads Detectives to Suspect Possessing Child Pornography

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Several months ago, the Santa Barbara Police Department Investigative Division received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding a subject believed to be living in the City of Santa Barbara and receiving pornographic photos of a child.

The NCMEC tip information was provided to detectives, who started an extensive investigation into this incident. Numerous search warrants and assistance from the Los Angeles Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce (ICAC) led investigators to the suspect, Jostin W. Artiga-Sanchez, a 25-year-old Los Angeles resident. At the times these crimes were committed, Artiga-Sanchez was residing in Santa Barbara. Since the time of the crimes, he had moved away from Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara Police were able to work with ICAC affiliates to locate and arrest Artiga-Sanchez in Los Angeles on September 9, 2021, and subsequently extradited him to Santa Barbara County.

 It appeared Artiga-Sanchez had used a social media app to receive illicit photos of a juvenile. Artiga-Sanchez was booked in the Santa Barbara County Jail for felony possession of child pornography and is being held on $20,000 bail.

The Santa Barbara Police Department, ICAC, and the NCMEC work jointly combatting these types of crimes.

We ask anyone that knows or believes a child is being exploited, please contact the Santa Barbara Police Department (805-897-2355) or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children tip-line. https://www.missingkids.org/gethelpnow/cybertipline