An Army soldier stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage has been arrested on charges related to the alleged transportation, receipt, and possession of child sexual abuse material, including the use of artificial intelligence to generate explicit images of children according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Seth Herrera, 34, is accused of possessing thousands of images depicting the violent sexual abuse of children, including infants. Herrera also allegedly used AI tools to create realistic child sexual abuse images of minors known to him.

“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,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “As alleged, the defendant used AI tools to morph images of real kids into horrific child sexual abuse material.”

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Herrera faces one count each of transportation, receipt, and possession of child pornography. He is scheduled to make his initial court appearance on Tuesday. If convicted, Herrera could face up to 20 years in prison.

“Technology may change, but our commitment to protecting children will not,” said U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker for the District of Alaska. “CSAM generated by AI is still CSAM, and those who sexually exploit children will be held accountable.”

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