Army soldier accused of using AI to generate child porn
Aug. 26 (UPI) -- An Army soldier stationed in Anchorage, Alaska, has been arrested on charges related to using artificial intelligence to generate explicit images of children, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Seth Herrera, 34, was arrested last week. He is scheduled to make his initial court appearance on Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kyle Reardon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
He allegedly transported, received and possessed files depicting child sexual abuse. Herrera used online AI chatbots to generate realistic child sexual abuse materials depicting minors known to him, including infants, prosecutors said.
"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," Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement. "As alleged, the defendant used AI tools to morph images of real kids into horrific child sexual abuse material."
She added: "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."
Herrera is charged with one count each of transportation of child pornography, receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography.
"Technology may change, but our commitment to protecting children will not," U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker for the District of Alaska said. "We will aggressively pursue those who produce and traffic in child sexual abuse material, 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."
Executive Associate Director Katrina Berger of Homeland Security Investigations said: "Absolutely no child should suffer these travesties, and no person should feel immune from detection and prosecution for these crimes by HSI and its partners in law enforcement."
Herrera was stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.
"This appalling misconduct undermines Herrera's commitment to defending both our nation and its most vulnerable members," Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer of HSI Pacific Northwest Division said.
Anyone with information concerning Herrera's alleged actions or may have encountered someone in person or online using the name Seth Herrera, contact the HSI tip line at 877-447-4847.
Last year, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received 4,700 reports of generated AI child porn, including deepfakes of real children to extort them.
Earlier this month, a Florida man, Phillip Michael McCorkle, 38, was arrested after allegedly using AI to create child pornography, and distributing them using the social media platform Kik, the Indian River County Sheriff's Office said.
In March, Google paused its AI image-generator after Gemini depicted America's founding fathers and Nazi soldiers as Black. The images went viral, embarrassing Google.,
