The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday an arrest was made after an American soldier was found to be in the possession of thousands of child pornography images he generated using artificial intelligence.
Seth Herrera, a U.S. Army soldier stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, was arrested and charged with allegedly transporting and possessing child sexual abuse images. Herrera had also used AI to generate child pornography images using pictures of children he knew.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the DOJ will be prosecuting AI-enabled criminal activity and will seek increased penalties if warranted.
“The misuse of cutting-edge generative AI is accelerating the proliferation of dangerous content, including child sexual abuse material – so the Department of Justice is accelerating its enforcement efforts. As alleged, the defendant used AI tools to morph images of real kids into horrific child sexual abuse material. Criminals considering the use of AI to perpetuate their crimes should stop and think twice – because the Department of Justice is prosecuting AI-enabled criminal conduct to the fullest extent of the law and will seek increased sentences wherever warranted,” Monaco said.
Herrera has been charged with one count of transportation of child pornography, once count of receipt of child pornography, one count of possession of child pornography, and will be appearing in court Tuesday. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted.
U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker for the District of Alaska, said AI-generated sexual abuse images are still child pornography, and perpetrators will be held accountable.
“Technology may change, but our commitment to protecting children will not. We will aggressively pursue those who produce and traffic in child sexual abuse material (CSAM), no matter how that material was created. Put simply, CSAM generated by AI is still CSAM, and those who sexually exploit children, through whatever technological means, will be held accountable by our office in conjunction with our law enforcement partners, for justice and the safety of our children,” Tucker said.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said the arrest of Herrera should serve as a warning to criminals who engage in these types of acts.
“As alleged, Seth Herrera possessed thousands of images depicting the violent sexual abuse of children, including infants. He also allegedly used AI to create images depicting the sexual exploitation of children he knew. Today’s announcement should serve as yet another warning that the Criminal Division will aggressively pursue those who possess or produce child sexual abuse material, including where the images were generated through AI,” Argentieri said.
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