Feds Nab First Conviction Under New Deepfake Abuse Law
(Franklin County Sheriff’s Office
An Ohio man has become the first person convicted under a new federal law addressing AI-generated abuse material, legislation that was promoted by First Lady Melania Trump and signed by President Trump last year.
James Strahler II, 37, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to several charges, including cyberstalking, creating obscene visual depictions involving child sexual abuse, and publishing digital forgeries. Federal prosecutors say the digital forgery conviction marks the first successful prosecution under the Take It Down Act.
The law, signed by President Trump in May after advocacy from the First Lady, is designed to combat the nonconsensual sharing or threatened sharing of intimate images, including deepfake images created using artificial intelligence.
According to prosecutors, Strahler carried out a campaign of harassment that lasted roughly six months and involved at least six women, three of whom were former partners. Authorities say he sent the victims both authentic and AI-generated nude images depicting them, along with threatening and abusive messages.
In one case, investigators say he used artificial intelligence to produce explicit videos that appeared to show a victim and her father. Those videos were then allegedly sent to the woman’s coworkers. Prosecutors also say Strahler demanded nude photographs from the victims’ mothers and threatened to widely distribute the manipulated images he had created of their daughters if his demands were not met. Some victims also received voicemails in which he referenced their home addresses and made violent threats.
Authorities say the suspect generated more than 700 images, including AI-produced child sexual abuse material that used the faces of local boys. These images were allegedly uploaded to a website dedicated to such content. When investigators examined his phone, they reportedly found another 2,400 disturbing photos and videos, along with access to more than two dozen AI platforms and over 100 web-based AI models.
Dominick Gerace, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, said prosecutors intend to pursue cases like this aggressively. He stated that authorities will use every available legal tool to hold offenders accountable.
A sentencing date for Strahler has not yet been scheduled.
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