BETHLEHEM, Pa. – A Bethlehem man will spend up to 10 years in prison for using artificial intelligence (AI) to create child sex abuse materials.
Prosecutors say Adam Erdman, 35, downloaded vacation photos of a co-worker’s daughters from a social media post. Erdman then used AI photo-editing software to alter the images to make them appear naked.
The girls were ages 6 and 9 at the time.
The victim’s mother cried in the courtroom as the sentence was handed down Monday. Erdman must also remain registered as a sex offender for 15 years.
Erdman is the first in the state to be convicted and sentenced under a statute banning AI-generated sexual- depicted images of children.
“Before December 2024, this would not have been a crime,” said Gavin Holihan, Lehigh County district attorney.
The law treats AI-generated child sex abuse material, known as CSAM, exactly like child pornography. Detectives say Erdman had been searching for child porn on the dark web, but the availability of these clothing removal apps are plentiful, and easy to obtain by internet search.
“The availability of that was shocking frankly,” Prosecutor Sarah Heimbach said.
Heimbach said Erdman was sorry he got caught.
Judge Anna Marks found Erdman’s actions to be “extremely calculated.”
In a statement, the victim’s mother said, “I felt betrayed, hurt, guilty, miserable. I trusted Adam as a friend. He held onto the pictures for years. I had no idea he was preying on my children.”
“(Erdman) targeted them to turn them from innocent pictures into child pornography,” said Holihan, who thinks Pennsylvania is behind the curve when it comes to advancing technology.
While this is the first law to protect minors in Pennsylvania, Holihan says more legislation is needed.
“I don’t think that, had he done this with adults, it would even be against the law today in Pennsylvania,” said Holihan.
Erdman was turned in by his estranged wife who found the images.
He was charged in April, four months after the law took effect.
Erdman’s defense attorney declined comment for this story.
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