NJ deputy attorney general charged with using AI to make, distribute child sex abuse material
Brian Richard Fitzgerald
BUCKS COUNTY, Pa. - An official with the New Jersey Attorney General's Office was arrested and charged with using artificial intelligence to make and share child sexual abuse material, police announced on Thursday.
NJ Deputy AG arrested
What we know:
Brian Richard Fitzgerald, 51, was arrested at his home in Lower Makefield Township on Thursday, Oct. 15. Fitzgerald is a Deputy Attorney General for the New Jersey Attorney General's Office.
According to police, Fitzgerald used the Discord username "thegentlemanpervert_2160_07833" to create illicit images of children using an AI program and share them with other users.
Executing a warrant at his home Thursday, police said they found prompts and scripts used to generate the child sexual abuse material, as well as Discord logs where Fitzgerald allegedly admitted to creating the images.
What they're saying:
Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan said his office "will pursue these cases aggressively."
"No one is above the law, least of all someone entrusted with upholding it," Kahn said.
Investigation into AI-generated CSAM
Dig deeper:
Bucks County officials said that the investigation into Fitzgerald began thanks to a tip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, after a Discord user shared an illegal image in July.
Investigators said they were able to link the image to the IP address at Fitzgerald's Lower Makefield home.
What's next:
Fitzgerald has been charged with possession of child sexual abuse material, dissemination of photos or film of child sexual abuse materials and criminal use of a communication facility. He was arraigned Thursday and is being held on $2 million bail.
Fitzgerald is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing later this month.
What we don't know:
FOX 29 has reached out to the New Jersey Attorney General's Office for comment but has not yet heard back.
The Source: Information in this story is from a press release from the Bucks County District Attorney's Office on the investigation into Brian Richard Fitzgerald.