A Pittsburgh court sentenced 57-year-old James Smelko to 14 years and seven months in prison for possessing deepfake child abuse material depicting child stars, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Political Affairs says in a press release.
Court documents and physical evidence were presented at trial, noting that Smelko “possessed and accessed” images that featured “digitally superimposed faces of child actors onto nude bodies and bodies” participating in sexual behaviors, on two occasions, according to the DOJ. Smelko was previously found guilty on “one count of possessing child pornography and one count of accessing with the intent to view” child explicit material in November.
The deepfake images depicted “numerous child celebrities,” according to the DOJ. Smelko had the photographs in his Pittsburgh residence. Law enforcement found the explicit material wile searching Smelko’s computer.
Upon discovery of the pornographic content, Smelko was found to have violated the conditions of his pre-trial release, which clearly stated he was not permitted to access such imagery.
After a series of highly publicized scandals related to deepfakes and child sexual abuse material (CSAM) have plagued the artificial intelligence industry, top AI companies have come together and pledged to combat the spread of AI-generated CSAM. https://t.co/oXTyNAYwFf
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 24, 2024
Authorities were tipped off that Smelko was again accessing child pornography despite the conditions of his release pending trial, according to the DOJ. Court-mandated monitoring software that had been installed on his cell phone detected him accessing the explicit images. The FBI Pittsburgh Field Office carried out the investigation into Smelko.
The case was prosecuted by trial Attorney Gwendelynn Bills of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Mitchell for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the press release reads. (RELATED: Department Of Homeland Security Takes Disney Cruise Line Employee Into Custody On Child Pornography Charges)
The case fell under Project Safe Childhood, an operation targeting child sexual exploitation and abuse, begun by the DOJ in 2006.