New Jersey state prosecutor charged over AI-generated child sexual abuse material
Fitzgerald, an employee of New Jersey's state attorney general's office, has been charged with possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material. Police link him to content generated with artificial intelligence.
A prosecutor working for the state of New Jersey in the United States has been charged in a case involving child sexual abuse material (CSAM) created with artificial intelligence. Police say Fitzgerald, a deputy attorney general in the state's top legal office, made and distributed such content. Cases in which an official from a state law enforcement and legal office is accused of this are rare, although some police officers have previously been arrested for similar offenses.
The charges
According to detectives, Fitzgerald faces charges of possession of CSAM, dissemination of photos or film of CSAM, and "criminal use of a communication facility." His LinkedIn profile states that he had been a deputy attorney general since 2016, preparing insurance fraud and insurance licensee cases for trial as a state prosecutor.
Official response
New Jersey district attorney Joe Khan said in a statement that the state agrees with the US Department of Justice that AI-generated CSAM is as harmful as other CSAM. "No one is above the law, least of all someone entrusted with upholding it," Khan said. He added that his office will pursue such cases aggressively and hold offenders fully accountable, regardless of their profession or title.
Similar cases
Earlier this year, a Pennsylvania police officer was arrested for making AI pornography from photos on driver's licenses. More recently, a police officer in South Korea was arrested for making AI pornography, including CSAM, The Korea Times reported.
