Orange County man arrested on charges of traveling out of state to engage in illicit sexual acts with minors and producing child pornography

SANTA ANA, Calif. – An Orange County man surrendered to federal law enforcement today to face criminal charges that he traveled out of state to engage in illicit sexual conduct and produce child pornography – including with one victim who was six years old.

The case is the result of a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles.

Daniel Seibert, 28, of Lake Forest, was taken into custody this morning by HSI special agents, and is expected to make his initial appearance tomorrow afternoon in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana.

Seibert has agreed to plead guilty to a three-count information charging him with production of child pornography, travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, and use of a facility of interstate commerce to induce a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity.

According to his plea agreement, between March 29, 2019 and April 2, 2019, Seibert traveled from California to Michigan to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a victim who was 6 years old. The victim’s mother attempted to render the victim unconscious by using over-the-counter drugs before having Seibert engage in sex acts with the victim, according to court documents. Images later recovered during a search depicted his abuse of the victim. The victim’s mother is facing multiple child sexual abuse charges in Oregon state court.

Seibert also admitted to traveling to Utah in December 2018 and again in May 2019 to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a 14-year-old victim that he had met on the internet.

During a November 2019 search of his residence, HSI special agents also found more than 180 photographs and 19 videos of child exploitation images.

This matter is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. Once Seibert pleads guilty to the three child exploitation charges, he will face a statutory maximum sentence of 75 years in federal prison.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.