APD: 11 children victims of child exploitation investigation in Austin, man arrested in case

Yahoo

30-05-2025

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Eleven children were victims of a child exploitation investigation in Austin, and a 19-year-old man was arrested in the case, Austin Police Department Child Exploitation Unit Sgt. Russell Weirich said during a media briefing Thursday.
Jack Bullington was charged on 10 of the cases after APD said it received those reports in September 2024. He was accused of posting 'explicit images' of the juveniles on social media, which were 'cropped' on images of juveniles' 'nude bodies' that were then altered by artificial intelligence (AI), Weirich said.
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Three cyber tips came into police, which were generated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Afterward, police obtained a search warrant on the social media account associated with Bullington.
The NCMEC is 'a nonprofit organization created in 1984 by child advocates with the purpose to help find missing children, fight child sexual exploitation and prevent child victimization,' said Jennifer Newman, executive director at the NCMEC.
'Every day NCMEC receives a constant flow of horrific child sexual abuse and exploitative material into the cyber tip line. Once received, we review and assess that information, add value to the report and refer it out to the appropriate law enforcement agency,' Newman said during the briefing.
The investigation determined that Bullington 'attained photographs of the victims from a variety of social media sites and platforms when the victims were younger than 18 years of age.' He would then share those images on social media with 'another individual located overseas,' Weirich said.
According to NCMEC, the nonprofit saw a 1,300% increase in cyber tip line reports that involved generative AI technology, which went from 4,700 reports in 2023 to more than 67,000 reports in 2024.
'We know it's scary, and we want you to know you're not alone,' Newman said.
Furthermore, she said NCMEC has free resources to take down 'nude or sexually exploitative imagery that may be online.'
This comes after the U.S. Senate passed the TAKE IT DOWN Act in February, which criminalizes the publication of non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII).
The act, also called S.4569, was introduced by Senators Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota.
'In terms of prevention and talking to your kids, that communication is such a key part of this. And really opening that door and having these discussions early and often with your kids is really the biggest tool in the toolbox when we talk about online child sexual exploitation. Also making sure that your kids know that you're a safe space to come to, that you're not going to respond with anger or, you know, be overly upset, that they are turning to you because they're upset,' Newman said.
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