Federal prosecutors have charged two men with using artificial intelligence to generate nude videos and photos of female celebrities under a newly enacted law designed to curb the spread of deepfake pornography. Cornelius Shannon, 51, and Arturo Hernandez, 20, were arrested on Tuesday for producing sexually explicit AI content that garnered millions of views online, according to criminal complaints.
First Charges Under Take It Down Act
The men, who appear to be unconnected, are among the earliest defendants to face charges under the Take It Down Act, a law signed last year by President Donald Trump that imposes stricter penalties for publishing AI-created deepfakes and revenge porn. The legislation received bipartisan support and the public endorsement of first lady Melania Trump. Under the new law, each man faces up to two years in prison. Attorneys for Shannon and Hernandez did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Prosecutors Condemn Victimless Crime Myth
In a statement, Joseph Nocella, the U.S. attorney in Brooklyn, said the men had used cutting-edge digital technology to create images that degraded and violated dozens of women. He added, “This case makes clear that posting deepfake pornography is not a victimless crime.” Shannon, a New Jersey resident, published at least 240 albums of AI-generated pornography featuring female politicians, musicians, and singers, according to the complaint. Hernandez, of Texas, published deepfakes that included both celebrities and private women, including recent high school graduates, prosecutors said.
Rising Concerns Over AI-Generated Abuse
The arrests come as increasingly sophisticated generative AI tools have raised alarm about the online spread of sexually explicit fakes, often depicting minors. Last month, an Ohio man became the first person convicted under the Take It Down Act after pleading guilty to using AI to generate child sexual abuse material. In March, two teenage boys received probation for creating explicit AI images of their classmates at an exclusive private school in Pennsylvania. In a separate case filed earlier this year, three teenagers in Tennessee sued Elon Musk’s xAI, claiming the company’s Grok tools morphed their real photos into explicitly sexual images. The high school students are seeking class-action status to represent what the lawsuit says are thousands of people who were similarly victimized as minors.
