A Sierra Vista charged with multiple counts of child molestation and possession of child pornography has been ordered back to court next month for a pretrial conference after he lost his effort to have much of the evidence thrown out of court.
Aaron Gabriel DiBuono is charged with 26 counts of alleged sexual misconduct between January 2012 and June 2020, along with possession of child pornography. He later challenged the constitutionality of a search warrant used to seize his home computer and smart phone, and the legality of a subsequent search of the files on those devices.
On May 21, Judge Timothy Dickerson of the Cochise County Superior Court ruled Sierra Vista detectives did nothing wrong in drafting nor executing a search warrant approved by a local judge in June 2020.
“The affidavit established probably cause that Defendant possessed illicit visual depictions of the victim in violation of A.R.S. §13-3553 A or other child pornography,” Dickerson noted in his order. “The affidavit establishes probable cause for all the offenses for which Defendant was arrested.”
Court records show that in June 2020, a teenaged girl reported to Sierra Vista Det. John Andela that she had been molested by DiBuono. The detective monitored a social media conversation between the minor and DiBuono before taking on the minor’s identity to continue exchanging messages with DiBuono.
DiBuono reportedly admitted during the messages to past misconduct with the minor and also sent sexually explicit images of himself while discussing a desire to have sex with her. He was arrested at a local park where DiBuono believed he would be meeting the teen.
The search warrant Andela obtained allowed detectives to search DiBuono’s home and two vehicles for the purpose of seizing computers, cell phones, and other devices “capable of storing, sending, receiving, or processing any electronic media.” It also allowed for the seizure of any digital media (such as CDs, thumb drives, SD cards) capable of storing digital files and authorized a forensic search of those files.
Although DiBuono likely communicated with the teen aka Andela by smartphone, the forensic analysis of his computer revealed several images of child pornography involving the same minor.
Most of the charges contained in the grand jury indictment are Class 2 felonies which require mandatory prison time, including one count which could carry a life sentence if DiBuono is convicted. Andela has said there is no information to suggest DiBuono had inappropriate contact with other minors.