ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – A 34-year-old soldier from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson made his first appearance in federal court Tuesday after being indicted on multiple federal charges related to child sexual abuse material.
U.S. Army soldier Seth Herrera is accused of using artificial intelligence and an AI chatbot to create pornography depicting minors he came into contact with, some of whom were the same age as Herrera's daughter, according to court documents.
On Thursday, a federal grand jury indicted Herrera on charges of transportation of child pornography, receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography.
He was arrested the following day, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Alaska.
If convicted, Herrera faces up to 20 years in prison.
After hearing arguments from the prosecution and defense on whether Herrera should be held in custody for the duration of his trial, Judge Kyle Reardon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska ruled in favor of the government, agreeing that Herrera posed a “danger to the community” and demonstrated “sophisticated skills in browsing the web to cover his tracks and conceal his activities.”
No trial setting conference was held on Tuesday, but a discovery control conference was scheduled for Oct. 1, 2024 at 1:30 p.m.
Alaskan soldier Seth Herrera. (From Alaska)
Her attorney, Rachel L. Rothberg, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Alaska News Source. Herrera's attorney, Ben Muse, said in an emailed statement that he was “unable to comment at this time.”
Herrera is also accused of viewing imagery that specifically depicted violent sexual abuse of children and infants, generated from images and videos of children culled from various social media pages, according to court documents.
“The misuse of cutting-edge generative AI is accelerating the spread of dangerous content, including child sexual abuse material,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement. “That's why the Department is accelerating its enforcement activities. As alleged, defendants used AI tools to transform real images of children into horrifying child sexual abuse content.”
According to pretrial detention documents filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, Herrera also kept “secretly recorded” footage of minors undressing at his home.
A forensic examination of three of his mobile phones revealed tens of thousands of videos and images dating back to March 2021 depicting the violent rape and sexual abuse of children.
Herrera allegedly used encrypted messaging apps to join a group known for trafficking child sexual abuse material, then stored the material in a password-protected app disguised as a calculator on his phone to hide the files, prosecutors said.
In March of this year, the FBI released a public service announcement about child sexual abuse material, warning of the legal consequences associated with obtaining or creating such material through AI.
“Federal law prohibits the production, promotion, transportation, distribution, receipt, sale, access with intent to view, or possession of any CSAM, including realistic computer-generated imagery,” the FBI said.
Herrera was a motor vehicle driver with the 17th Combat Support Battalion, 11th Airborne Division, according to a statement from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to Alaska News Source. He enlisted in the Army in November 2019 and was previously stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, Fort Bliss, Texas, and bases in South Korea before arriving in Alaska in August 2023.
After hearing arguments from the prosecution and defense on whether Herrera should be held in custody for the duration of his trial, Judge Kyle Reardon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska ruled in favor of the government, agreeing that Herrera posed a “danger to the community” and demonstrated “sophisticated Web browsing skills to cover his tracks and conceal his activities.”
If you have any information about Mr. Herrera's alleged conduct, or may have encountered someone using the name Seth Herrera, either in person or online, the Department of Justice urges you to contact Homeland Security Investigations at (877) 447-4847.
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