JBER soldier makes federal court appearance on charges surrounding AI-generated child sex abuse images [Video]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – A 34-year-old Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson soldier made his first appearance in federal court Tuesday after being indicted on multiple federal charges related to child sex abuse materials.

Seth Herrera, a U.S. Army soldier, is accused of using artificial intelligence and AI chatbots to generate pornography depicting minors with whom he was in contact. Some of the children are the same age as a daughter of Herrera’s, court documents show.

On Thursday, a federal grand jury charged Herrera with one count of transportation of child pornography, one count of receipt of child pornography, and one count of 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 a maximum of 20 years in prison.

After hearing arguments from the prosecution and Herrera’s defense as to whether or not he should be detained during the duration of the trial, U.S. Magistrate …