Bucks Co. Woman Made 'Deepfake' Videos To Harass Teens, DA Says

DOYLESTOWN, PA — New details have emerged in the case of a Chalfont woman accused of harassing three teens who were members of her daughter's cheerleading squad.

Raffaela Marie Spone, 50, has been charged with three counts of cyber harassment of a child and three counts of repeated anonymous harassment, both misdemeanors. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 30 before District Judge Regina Armitage.

The threatening text messages began around July of last year, according to a criminal complaint. A Hilltown Township mom told police that her daughter had received multiple phone calls and text messages from a blocked or unknown number saying "you should kill yourself," the complaint stated.

Later, pictures were taken and doctored from the girl's social media accounts to give the appearance that she was nude, drinking alcohol or vaping. An altered video was sent via text to the owner of the cheer gym Victory Vipers in Doylestown. Police reviewed the video and found it to be the work of a program that is or is similar to "deepfakes," where a still image can be mapped onto an existing video and alter the appearance of the person in the video.

By December, police said they were able to trace the source of the threatening messages to Spone, and charges were filed late last week.

The case has garnered national attention after the teens who were allegedly harassed appeared on the "Today" show Monday morning.

Her attorney, Robert Birch, told NBC that his client is innocent.

"My client denies what they have charged her with, and we are going to aggressively fight this," Birch said.

Researchers say the recent trend of deepfakes have marked a turning point in the creation of fake content, making it harder for law enforcement to detect doctored or fabricated videos.

"We've always taken for granted that a photo is a photo, a video is a video. We can't take that for granted any longer," Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub told the "Today" show.

The father of one of the girls who allegedly received threatening messages told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he believes the harassment was triggered after he and his wife told their daughter to stop hanging out with Spone's daughter.

In a statement to the morning news show, the Victory Vipers said their squad "has always promoted a family environment and we are sorry for all individuals involved."

Weintraub said deepfake technology is a disturbing new trend on the radar of local law enforcement.

"Sometimes these deepfakes are so good, we can't even discern them with the naked eye," Weintraub said during a press conference at the Bucks County Administration Building on Monday to discuss details of the case. "This is prevalent."

Weintraub also stated that Spone's daughter is "completely blameless" in the incident.

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