Authorities arrested a Wisconsin man last week on charges connected to his alleged creation, distribution, and possession of AI-generated explicit images of minors, as well as sending similar explicit AI-generated images to a minor, federal officials announced Monday.
“Technology may change, but our commitment to protecting children will not,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “The Justice Department will aggressively pursue those who produce and distribute child sexual abuse material—or CSAM—no matter how that material was created. Put simply, CSAM generated by AI is still CSAM, and we will hold accountable those who exploit AI to create obscene, abusive, and increasingly photorealistic images of children.”
According to court documents, Steven Anderegg, 42, of Holmen, allegedly used a text-to-image generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) model called Stable Diffusion to create thousands of realistic images of prepubescent minors.
Many of these images depict nude or partially clothed minors lasciviously displaying or touching their genitals or engaging in sexual intercourse with men, the authorities stated.
Evidence recovered from Anderegg’s electronic devices revealed that he generated these images using specific, sexually explicit text prompts related to minors, which he then stored on his computer, officials stated.
“As alleged, Steven Anderegg used AI to produce thousands of illicit images of prepubescent minors, and even sent sexually explicit AI-generated images to a minor,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s announcement sends a clear message: using AI to produce sexually explicit depictions of children is illegal, and the Justice Department will not hesitate to hold accountable those who possess, produce, or distribute AI-generated child sexual abuse material.”
Additionally, Anderegg allegedly communicated with a 15-year-old boy and described how he used Stable Diffusion to convert his text prompts into images of minors. Anderegg also allegedly used an Instagram direct message to send the boy several GenAI images of minors lasciviously displaying their genitals.
Anderegg came to the attention of law enforcement through a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) after Instagram reported Anderegg’s account to NCMEC for distributing these images.
Anderegg remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for May 22.
A federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin returned an indictment on May 15, charging Anderegg with producing, distributing, and possessing obscene visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and transferring obscene material to a minor under the age of 16.
If convicted of all four counts alleged in the indictment, he faces up to 70 years in prison.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorney William G. Clayman of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) is prosecuting the case with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin.