A San Diego police officer has been indicted on federal sexual exploitation charges and accused of using social media to meet underage girls and young women and pay them for sexual images and videos of themselves, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and a prosecution filing in the case.
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Prosecutors suspect Brandon McGibbon, 33, might have targeted at least 20 young women and underage girls, with the youngest potential victim being just 13 years old, according to a detention memorandum filed Friday in which prosecutors sought to keep McGibbon in custody.
“Defendant’s occupation as a police officer, a position of trust and authority, gave him no pause in committing these crimes,” prosecutors wrote in the detention memo, alleging that McGibbon was a flight risk and danger to the community.
McGibbon is expected to make an initial appearance Tuesday in U.S. District Court in San Diego. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
The indictment unsealed Friday charged McGibbon with five counts involving three underage girls, including attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, attempted enticement of a minor and attempted receipt of images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
“Allegations of this nature are deeply concerning,” a San Diego Police Department spokesperson said in a statement Friday evening. “From the moment we learned of this investigation, SDPD has fully cooperated with federal investigators and assisted as requested. McGibbon was suspended and his police powers were removed. We hold our officers to the highest standards, and these allegations do not reflect the great work of the men and women of the San Diego Police Department.”
According to the prosecution detention memo, the FBI first learned of McGibbon’s conduct in April 2025, when a woman who had recently turned 18 reported that a San Diego police officer had solicited her for sexual images on the messaging app Telegram when she was still 17. McGibbon allegedly told that woman he was a police officer “without hesitation,” prosecutors wrote.
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The FBI allegedly identified the Telegram user as McGibbon and identified other potential victims through subpoenas of online records and search warrants for McGibbon’s residence, phone and Snapchat accounts, according to the detention memo.
Records detailed in the court filing allege to show portions of McGibbon’s highly explicit messages with three separate underage girls in which he sent them money and gift cards, and in exchange they sent him sexual images and videos. In each of the three conversations, the victims clearly stated their ages, while McGibbon claimed to be several years younger than his actual age, according to the records.
“I’m going to risk it all for you,” McGibbon allegedly messaged an Arizona girl he knew was 17. According to those messages, McGibbon appeared to be trying to plan a trip to meet up with the girl for sex when her mother would be out of town.
Prosecutors wrote that FBI agents located, interviewed and confirmed the identities and ages of all three underage girls. Prosecutors also alleged that McGibbon “asked adult women to send him images and videos of themselves as minors,” according to the detention memo.
“Defendant poses a serious risk of danger to the community,” prosecutors wrote. “He sexually exploited not one minor victim, not two minor victims, but three minor victims, at very nearly the same time over the course of one to two weeks. This behavior was not isolated, as demonstrated by the investigation. … As a part of his exploitation, Defendant paid for and directed the production of child pornography, as well as planned to meet the minors for sex.”
McGibbon faces up to life in prison, and a 15-year minimum sentence, if convicted on the enticement charge.
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Staff writer Caleb Lunetta contributed to this report.
