Ohio man becomes first to be convicted of sexually explicit images under new AI law

An Ohio man pleaded guilty Tuesday to committing cybercrimes using real and AI-generated “sexually explicit images,” becoming the first person convicted under a new federal AI law, according to the Justice Department.

James Strahler II, 37, admitted cyberstalking, creating obscene visual depictions of child sexual abuse and posting digital forgeries. The final allegation relates to the Take It Down Act, which “prohibits the non-consensual online publication of intimate visual depictions and AI fakes.”

“We believe that Strahler is the first person in the United States to be convicted under the Take It Down Act,” said Dominick Gerace II, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. “We will not tolerate the abhorrent practice of publishing and publishing AI-generated intimate images of real people without consent.”

“We are committed to using every tool at our disposal to hold accountable perpetrators like Strahler who seek to intimidate and harass others…”