Paul Michael Barbour Child Porn Case Kicked Up to Feds, Who Take Him into Custody

See Update No. 2 at the end of this post on federal prosecutors taking over the case against Paul Barbour. Update No. 1 was on his online dating profile.

ORIGINAL POST, JUNE 4, 6:32 A.M.: According to Paul Michael Barbour's Google Plus page, the 33-year-old Long Beach resident is an “emcee, presenter, DJ” affiliated with Cypress dance production company Kids Artistic Revue.

“I am a master of voices,” writes Barbour in the “About Me” section. “My skills are extended into the musical realm, the gaming realm, and the occult.”

His skills also extend to videotaping underage girls in their dressing room, allege authorities, who booked Barbour on suspicion of possessing more than 1,000 images of child pornography as well as magic mushrooms.

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The Orange County District Attorney's office (OCDA) and the Cypress Police Department announced Tuesday afternoon their investigators are seeking potential additional victims of Barbour, who has been charged with one felony count each of possession and control of child pornography, possession for sale of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and cultivating spores with the intent to produce a controlled substance.

Barbour also faces a misdemeanor disorderly conduct count as well as a sentencing enhancement allegation for possessing more than 600 child pornography images with more than 10 images of a minor under the age of 12, according to prosecutors.

A conviction could send him to state prison for seven years and jail for six months, according to an OCDA statement that indicated Barbour was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Westminster.

“On May 31, 2014, Barbour is accused of being the MC for a dance competition being held at Cypress College,” reads the OCDA release. “Prior to the beginning of the event, Barbour is accused of placing a hidden video camera inside a changing room on campus and recording girls, between the ages 12 and 15 years old, who were preparing to compete.”

But the video camera was found by a mother of a dance competitor who turned it over to Cypress Police, which launched an investigation that also led to more than 1,000 images of child porn–in both still and video form–being found Sunday on Barbour's home computer, according to the OCDA.

“The pictures and videos were not related to the girls from the dance production company,” prosecutors make clear, although given Barbour's profession the word is being cast wide for other potential victims. Anyone who believes that could be them or has more information is asked to call the Cypress Police Criminal Investigative Bureau at 714.229.6631 or Supervising District Attorney Investigator Paul Carvo at 714.347.8794.

If all this were not enough, Barbour is also accused of possessing about 22 pounds of controlled substances, including psilocybin mushrooms, lysergic acid diethylamide and dimethyltryptamine, all hallucinogens. Investigators believe he was cultivating magic mushrooms for sale.

UPDATE NO. 1, JUNE 4, 11:14 A.M.: Paul Barbour's arraignment date in Westminster has been pushed to June 27, according to authorities. Here is his booking photo:

You can get another look at him in his Club OnIRC dating profile, which is age appropriate as he says he is interested in women ages 22-33:

Among the interests he lists are guitar, djembé drums, wine tasting, the bands Tool, Radiohead, Muse and hip hop artist Aesop Rock, comedian Louis C.K., Adult Swim, Family Guy, Minecraft and the English psychedelic music project Shpongle.

UPDATE NO. 2, JUNE 27, 4:08 P.M.: The federal government has taken over the child porn case against Paul Michael Barbour, the emcee for Cypress-based Kids Artistic Review who could now face more time behind bars with a conviction, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.

See also:
Paul Michael Barbour's “Rock With Your Cock Out” T-Shirt Makes His Child Porn Case Crazier

Orange County prosecutors dropped their case against the Long Beach 33-year-old in Westminster court today, after which he was taken into federal custody before an expected initial appearance in federal court Monday.

The U.S. Attorney's office filed a criminal complaint against Barbour charging him with possession of child pornography on Thursday. The feds noted the maximum penalty under state law is seven years in prison, but it's 10 years under federal law.

But in agreeing to turn the case over to the feds, the Orange County District Attorney's office noted that if the continuing investigation leads to the identification of any Orange County victims, new state charges may be lodged against Barbour, who was originally busted by the Cypress Police Department after a hidden camera was discovered in the girls dressing area at a dance competition he was working at Cypress College.

“This case represents another stellar example of how federal and local authorities are using their respective authorities and expertise strategically to target those involved in the online sexual exploitation of innocent children,” said Claude Arnold, special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigation in Los Angeles, in a statement. “Every time a sexually explicit image of a child is downloaded, that victim is violated yet again.”

Since the probe is continuing, anyone with information is asked to contact the Cypress Police Department at 714.229.3391 or email oc****@ic*.gov.

Email: mc****@oc******.com. Twitter: @MatthewTCoker. Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!

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