Man Becomes 1st In PA Charged With Having AI-Generated Child Porn

HARRISBURG, PA — A York County man has become the first person to be charged in Pennsylvania with possessing artificially-generated child sexual abuse material since a law making such possession a crime went into effect last year.

Luke A. Teipel, 22, of Dallastown, is charged with 33 felony counts of possession of child sexual abuse material, including the artificially-generated images, and one count of criminal use of a communication facility, state Attorney General Dave Sunday announced Monday.

Teipel was recently arraigned and bail was set at $25,000 unsecured. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 24.

“This proactive investigation uncovered a defendant weaponizing modern technology to victimize and harm children,” Sunday said in a statement. “Due to the bipartisan leadership of Senators Tracy Pennycuik and Lisa Boscola, we now have a law on the books that enables the filing of serious felony charges in AI cases that we previously could not prosecute. These charges are just a first step in using this new law to protect our communities and our children.”

During the attorney general's office investigation, agents discovered numerous files of suspected child sexual abuse material that was traced back to a device owned by Teipel. During a search of Teipel’s home, agents recovered a cell phone in the kitchen, containing 29 files of alleged artificially-generated child sexual abuse material.

The investigation is ongoing into how the materials were created. Charges were also filed regarding non-artificial images found on the phone and a laptop computer at Teipel’s home.

Last year, the attorney general's office offered input on Act 125, which revised prior laws to prohibit the use of artificial intelligence technology to create materials that appear to “authentically depict a child under 18” engaging in sexually abusive acts that did not occur in reality.