An Oxnard man, Aaron Wayne Bouffard, is facing a felony charge of possessing or controlling child sexual abuse material (CSAM), including a special allegation of holding more than 600 such images. Details released by the Ventura County District Attorney's Office indicate that Bouffard fell into the crosshairs of Homeland Security Investigations Ventura in April 2023, after a cryptocurrency trading platform flagged his Bitcoin transactions linked to CSAM purchases.
Following a federal search warrant, several devices were seized from Bouffard's residence, which housed thousands of illegal images. Bouffard, with a birthdate of February 6, 1970, was already on probation due to a 2021 child endangerment case. His arrest was executed on September 20, by Ventura police, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
On October 7, Bouffard pled not guilty during his arraignment and is currently being held without bail, as detailed by the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office. The team prosecuting the case includes Senior Deputy District Attorney Howard Wise and Deputy District Attorney Katherine Plante from the Ventura County District Attorney's Office Fraud and Technology Crimes Unit. Given the weight of his probation violation and the current charges, his case will see an early disposition conference on October 16, in Ventura County Superior Court.
Law enforcement officials encourage anyone with relevant information to reach out to HSI Special Agent Tommy Brizuela Jr. at [email protected].
