Albuquerque, NM (KKOB) – Every day we seem to learn about yet another criminal way people are using AI. Now we have a local example, as an Albuquerque man is in jail for using AI to edit pictures of children an turning them into child porn. 68-year old Richard Gallagher, was arrested by the New Mexico Department of Justice after they received a Cyber Tip about child sexual abuse material linked to a specific IP address in New Mexico and tracked it to Gallagher. They found the sexually explicit pictures on his phone.
According to the NMDOJ, Gallagher would download pictures of random children from the internet and use artificial intelligence turn them into child porn.
Investigators are working to identify those people in the photos and if they have any connections to Gallagher.Gallagher, faces 12 counts of felony sexual exploitation of children, including manufacturing child sexual abuse material. If he is convicted on all counts, he be sentenced to 47 years in prison.
State Attorney General Raúl Torrez said. “Today’s arrest should be a powerful warning to predators in our midst who think they can use generative AI to exploit children,” and wants the legislature to work on updating laws to meet the changes happening in technology such as AI.
