Christian Florida school teacher used AI and yearbook photos to make child pornography

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https://lawandcrime.com/crime/christian ... hy-police/

A teacher at a Christian school in Florida is behind bars after authorities caught him with child sexual abuse material generated from artificial intelligence pulled from yearbook photos.

Pasco County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 67-year-old Steven Houser, a third-grade science teacher at Beacon Christian Academy in New Port Richey, on possession of child pornography. Deputies apparently received a tip that Houser was in possession of the sexually abusive material and found that he indeed had two photos and three videos. Those did not feature any students.

However, deputies said later learned he was in possession of AI-generated photos which morphed three students’ yearbook photos onto nude bodies. Deputies do not believe there are any other victims, but anyone who may believe they may be a victim of Houser is asked to contact the Pasco Sheriff’s Office Crime Tips Line at 1-800-706-2488, or report tips online at http://PascoSheriff.com/tips.

This is the second case of a teacher using yearbook photos to make child sexual abuse material that Law&Crime has reported on this week.
Federal prosecutors from the Western District of Kentucky last month indicted 39-year-old Jordan Fautz on charges of distribution of child pornography and obscene visual representation of child sexual abuse. Fautz was a seventh and eighth grade teacher at St. Stephen Martyr Catholic School in Louisville.
FBI agents busted Fautz distributing images on a social networking app of a nude photo collage using the real names of a minor girl between 12 to 15 years old and her mother, authorities said. Fautz allegedly used Photoshop or morphing technology to input nonsexual yearbook photos onto pornographic images and videos. The girl had on a red shirt with the letters SSM, the school’s initials, standing in front of a SSMCardinals school photo backdrop, according to the complaint. Last week, parents and students sued the school and the Catholic Diocese of Louisville, claiming they ignored warning signs about Fautz.
As AI becomes more prevalent, lawmakers and authorities are trying to grapple with the issue. Last month, lawmakers in South Carolina filed two bills that specifically address these morphed images of kids.

“Creators and users are one step ahead of the law,” state Sen. Brad Hutto, a bill sponsor, told Greenville, South Carolina, Fox affiliate WHNS. “These bills give the Attorney General’s office, solicitors, and law enforcement the flexibility they need to investigate and prosecute obscene images of child sexual abuse now and in the future. We have to update our laws to remain effective in prosecuting those who place children in jeopardy.”
Meanwhile other cases are sprouting up. A student at a high school in New Jersey caused an uproar last year when he used a website to morph photos of female classmates into pornographic images, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Washington Post reported in November that these fake images, particularly of teenage girls, are “booming.”

The issue is not only affecting young girls but also celebrities. Pornographic deepfakes of Taylor Swift went viral in late January. Marvel star Xochitl Gomez, 17, and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also fell victim as targets of AI-generated pornography.
The American Enterprise Institute says two federal statues ban the use of morphed pornographic images, however the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to uphold the laws.

University of Florida law professor Stacey Steinberg writes that “much must be done” to address the issue, starting with the USSC upholding the laws barring the images to prevent the argument that they could be protected under the First Amendment’s freedom of expression.
“Second, to respond to the harms morphed child pornography causes, states must amend their statutory definitions of child pornography,” she writes. “Lastly, parents must be cognizant of the risk associated with oversharing pictures as these images can be stolen and then used for illicit purposes.”

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https://www.tampabay.com/news/crime/202 ... uties-say/

A teacher at Beacon Christian Academy in New Port Richey was arrested Tuesday after deputies say he used artificial intelligence to generate child pornography based on yearbook photos of students at the school.
Steven Houser, a third grade science teacher at the school, is facing five counts of possession of child pornography, court records show.
After receiving a tip, deputies began an investigation that found Houser, 67, possessed two photos and three videos containing child pornography, according to an arrest affidavit.
The sheriff’s office said the child pornography did not feature any students at the school.

Houser also possessed child pornography generated by AI, the affidavit states. Deputies say he admitted to using yearbook photos of three students’ faces to generate them onto bodies of women that were “sexually suggestive.”
In an interview with detectives, Houser admitted that he was curious about what his students looked like naked and admitted to generating sexually suggestive photos of children.
According to his arrest affidavit, Houser said it became an addiction to him because he was “bored,” but that he hadn’t made any attempts to conduct sexual behavior with his students because he saw them as his “children.”
Houser told deputies that he did not view any AI child pornography videos, but he did view one or two real child pornography videos out of “curiosity.”
After watching the videos, Houser told deputies that he immediately deleted them.
When reached by phone by a Tampa Bay Times reporter on Wednesday, an employee at Beacon Christian Academy said the school had no comment and hung up.

Houser was being held Thursday at the Land O’ Lakes detention center on a $500,000 bond. Court records show he has pleaded not guilty to all charges through a public defender.
There are no reports of additional victims, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. Anyone who believes they may be a victim can contact the sheriff’s office tip line at 1-800-706-2488, or report tips online at PascoSheriff.com/tips.

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https://www.wfla.com/news/pasco-county/ ... n-illegal/

Pasco teacher arrested: Is AI-generated child porn illegal?

DADE CITY, Fla. (WFLA) — Third-grade science teacher Steven Houser stood virtually before a judge on Wednesday after he was charged with five counts of possessing child pornography.
The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office said Houser worked at Beacon Christian Academy in New Port Richey.

He’s accused of having two photos and three videos featuring child pornography.
Throughout their investigation, deputies said Houser also admitted to using yearbook photos of three students to generate AI child erotica.
He was never charged for that, leaving some Pasco County parents concerned.
“AI is a very scary thing and people are not aware of the danger it can cause,” said Cassie Rogers, a parent in Wesley Chapel.

She told 8 On Your Side she’s planning to take her kids out of school.
“It’s pretty scary,” she explained. “You just don’t know–private school, public school, Christian school, Catholic school–you just don’t know anymore.”
Though her grandchildren go to a different elementary school, she was devastated to hear what had happened to kids so close to home.
“I was sick to my stomach thinking about the parents, and what they’d have to deal with,” she said. “The thought of their child being in this made-up act or their face on their made-up act, I can imagine the heartbreak they had.”
On Wednesday, the state argued for a high bond to be set saying, “He is a teacher and is in a position of power around children and has authority around children which brings great concern to the state.”

The judge seemed to agree, telling Houser, “Bonds will be set at $100,000 each,” meaning $100,000 per count of possessing child pornography. Therefore, Houser’s bond was set to $500,000.
So why was Houser never charged for using yearbook photos of three students to generate AI child erotica?
Attorney Bryant Camareno, who is unaffiliated with this case, said that under existing laws, AI-generated child pornography is actually legal.

“Taking pictures and unfortunately superposing them on children in erotic situations is not a crime as defined by the Supreme Court,” he explained.
Camareno pointed to one of his own cases saying, “My client was accused of having real children in erotic situations and then he superposed pictures on adult bodies.”
“He wasn’t charged with that,” he continued. “He couldn’t be charged with that because of that supreme court opinion…that came out in 2002.”

Camareno said in that ruling, the Supreme Court made a distinction between artistic value and obscenity.
“Movies like American Beauty, the original Romeo and Juliet from back in the 60s, the Supreme Court said, if we were to abide by the statute the way it’s written, we’re going to have to ban all of those movies,” Camareno explained. “It’s a fine line.”
“You and I may not think that’s art, but if it’s not obscenity, then it’s art and free speech and protected,” he continued.
But Camareno explained that there are limitations.

“It’s not a crime, because no harm was actually committed upon the children,” he continued. “Granted it’s wrong, morally wrong, but it doesn’t rise to stalking, cyberstalking, harassments, unless he’s disseminating those pictures, especially to the young child and that causes distress, otherwise that’s not a crime.”

“So if you distribute, then that’s a whole different ball game?” asked 8 On Your Side reporter Nicole Rogers.
“That’s a whole different ball game,” he agreed. “It’s still not child porn, but it’s a different ball game because now you’re doing it with the intention to harass or there’s consequences that that child is being harassed and potentially threatened.”
“So, if the laws do need to be rewritten, how would that need to come about?”, Rogers then asked.
“We could start at the state level, but ultimately unless they meet the language that is cited in the Supreme Court opinion, it’s going to be struck down,” he explained.

Camareno said any changes would need to happen at the federal level.
“Congress needs to come up with a law that meets the definition of child pornography as the way the Supreme Court witnessed it or identified it and if they don’t do that, more of these cases are going to pop up and nothing can be done about it,” he explained.