The case against a South Lyon man facing felony charges for allegedly having more than 40,000 images of child pornography on his computer has advanced to Oakland County Circuit Court for possible trial.
Austin McCarty, 35, recently waived his right to a preliminary exam in district court, resulting in the case being bound over to the higher court. He’s been arraigned before Judge David Cohen, and a pretrial hearing via Zoom is scheduled for June 5.
According to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, the case unfolded in January 2025 after McCarty’s wife contacted police and reported finding a sexually inappropriate image of a young girl on his computer. McCarty allegedly told her that he used an AI tool to generate sexually explicit images of children, and that led to the sheriff’s office seizing his electronic devices and conducting a year-long forensic examination.
Some of the images were generated with Artificial Intelligence, officials said.
McCarty is charged with three counts each of aggravated possession of child sexually abusive material and using a computer to commit a crime. He’s out of custody on a $50,000 personal bond, which requires no cash or surety to be posted.
Aggravated possession of child sexually abusive material is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and/or a $50,000 fine. Use of a computer to commit a crime carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
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