Latest news with #WilliamStafford
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pensacola AI fake 'nude' photos prompt proposed legislation. What it means for victims.
Florida legislators are working to pass new laws that will close what police say is a loophole when it comes to using Artificial Intelligence to alter and sexualize the images of others without their permission. The bills are in response to cases like the one the News Journal first reported last fall involving a high school student who downloaded images of girls and young women and altered them to appear 'nude' using an AI powered app. One of the victims in that case, Lucy Adams Stevenson, spoke before the Senate Criminal Justice Committee on Tuesday in support of Senate Bill 1180, which would make it a crime for people to create nude photos of identifiable people and lewd imagery involving a child. Currently, it's not a crime to use Artificial Intelligence to make the images, but it is to 'promote,' transfer, or share them. That's the reason why 18-year-old William Stafford, who admitted to police he downloaded the social media pictures of girls he thought were attractive and 'undressed' them, was never charged. However, his ex-girlfriend was arrested for sending a video she made of the images to others, including the victims. Parents say wrong person charged: Police arrest girl for sending fake, nude photos of females. Why parents are outraged Stevenson shared her story with the News Journal, last year, saying she grew up with William Stafford as her god-brother and she felt betrayed when he altered one of her pictures to appear nude. The high school senior told legislators the image he altered of her was one taken when she was 16 years old working as a counselor at a Christian summer camp. 'He used all of these images from our private Instagram accounts and edited them into child pornography in my image,' Lucy Adams Stevenson told the committee. 'His ex-girlfriend was the one who sent them to everyone just kind of letting them know, 'Hey, this is what's going on.' She got in a bunch of trouble, but nothing really happened to him, which is why I'm in support of the bill, because to prevent it in the future and to hold people like him accountable.' Stafford was identified by the court when his ex-girlfriend was sentenced to eight months' probation, earlier this month, for her role in sending the images. Senator Don Gaetz sponsored SB 1180 in response to the Escambia County case. He said under this bill, a person who willfully and maliciously generates and possesses hardcore pornography of an identifiable person without that person's consent can be prosecuted for a felony in the third degree. 'There have to be guardrails around misusing artificial intelligence to create deep fakes that sexually exploit and victimize young women,' Gaetz told the committee. 'Many of the girls depicted in the photos are traumatized by the incident and they and their parents are worried about will happen to those images.' The Senate Criminal Justice Committee passed SB 1180 on Tuesday. A companion bill is also making its way through the House of Representatives. HB 757 would also criminalize explicitly AI-generated photos of real people. Rep. Alex Andrade worked with the sponsors of the bill to close legal loopholes that allowed those who create sexual depictions of others without their permission to avoid charges. 'It's a much-needed bill,' Andrade said. 'I worked with the Governor's office and the bill sponsor to help address the circumstance we had here at home. It was an unfortunate and unforeseen loophole that we all agree needs to be fixed immediately.' If the bills are passed, the law would take effect Oct. 1. 'I hope it becomes a law because I feel that it is important to make sure that the person who originally created the images should have consequences even if they did not share it,' Stevenson told the News Journal in a follow up interview. 'Because in our case, the person who created the images did not face legal consequences, but the person who shared them did. This bill makes it to where, while the person who shared them would still face consequences, the creator of the content would as well.' This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Fake AI 'nude' photos case in Pensacola leads to new criminal laws
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Yahoo
Teen sentenced for sending fake 'nude' pictures made by ex-boyfriend
The teenager arrested for sending AI-altered 'nude' pictures of local high girls created by her ex-boyfriend using an app powered by Artificial Intelligence pleaded no contest to eight misdemeanor counts of sexting in Juvenile Court on Thursday morning. Under her plea agreement, Judge Coleman Lee Robinson sentenced 18-year-old Jaylyn Lee to eight months probation in a diversion program. She was also ordered to finish her education, stay off social media, perform 75 hours of community service, write letters of apology to the girls depicted in the images, as well as a 1,000-word essay on how her actions impacted them and the potential consequences it could have on their lives. The judge recounted the events that lead to Lee's charges, clarifying with the prosecutor that it was her boyfriend at the time, William Stafford, who had altered the pictures to appear nude and had them on his cell phone. Lee later texted a video she created of his altered images to others. 'To be clear, my understanding of the allegations here are that this William Stafford took actual photographs and faces of girls in school and placed them on images that were not these people, creating images that never existed. Then she just pled to, for whatever her reasoning was, showing those to other people and sending those through text?' The assistant state attorney handling the case confirmed they were altered using an AI app. How AI 'nude' pictures case started: Student used AI to 'undress' dozens of high school girls. Parents want him arrested. Lee had been facing eight counts of promoting an altered sexual depiction of an identifiable person without consent, a third-degree felony. However, the prosecution dropped the charges to misdemeanor sexting after consulting with victims who preferred not to press felony charges against the teenager. Robinson said Lee must also observe a half-day of violation of probation sentencing in adult court and then write a 250-word essay on what she learned from it. He said the goal is to help make it clear that Juvenile Court is intended to help rehabilitate youthful offenders not punish them and there are serious consequences for some who don't stay on the right path. 'If you successfully complete it and stay out of trouble in this case, it says for eight months, then at that time the charge will be dismissed,' Robinson said. The case stems from an investigation that started last year when Pensacola police say Lee made a video of the altered images that Stafford had created with an AI app called 'Undress Me.' Victims' parents say he had downloaded the girls' social media pictures, uploaded them to the app where he 'undressed' them, then downloaded the fake nude photos to his phone. Police say the images came to light after Stafford broke up with Lee last fall. They say she was upset and sent her video of the images to 17 high school students, some of whom were not depicted in the AI generated photos. While some parents agree that what Lee did was wrong, most who spoke with the News Journal wanted Stafford charged for making them in the first place. Both police and the State Attorney's Office said that under current laws it wasn't a crime for the young man to create or possess the fake nude pictures. It is, however, a crime to share them, which is why Lee was charged and not him. Prior to sentencing, parent and teacher Julie Harmon spoke to the court and Lee about how her actions affected them. An altered picture of Harmon's daughter at the beach is the first image to appear on the video. 'As a then 17-year-old, Addison should not have to worry that there are photos out there on the Internet of her naked and that there is a possibility they could show back up and she may lose her college, her scholarship, lose her job, possibly lose everything she has worked so hard to achieve," she told the court. "All because a girl was mad at her ex-boyfriend, William Stafford.' Harmon said the incident made her daughter's ongoing battle with anxiety worse, but that as upset as she was, she understood Lee's actions were impulsive and that she acted out of hurt over her relationship. Lee listened while seated at a table in court. The young woman cried often during the hearing and at one point put her head down on the table sobbing as Harmon spoke. Harmon was also emotional, and said one good thing that came out of the incident is that Lee's actions exposed a loophole in the law when it comes to AI altered images. She said she hopes the law can be rewritten to ban the creation of fake sexual content as well as sharing it. Only girlfriend charged in AI case: Case closed on "nude" AI images of girls. Why police are not charging man who made them She added she wants to see Lee take this opportunity to do 'great things with your life.' 'Take the time to soak it all in and learn from it. Do better. And by doing better, you can create a better life and be a better person. You owe it to the girls in the video. This is your second chance,' Harmon concluded. Addison Harmon also spoke. A high school senior like Lee, she said the fact the images existed at all caught her off guard since she barely knew Stafford and it was upsetting to realize Lee, who she did not know, had shared the images with others. 'At first I was angry because it felt like a personal attack,' Addison said. 'However, as time has passed, I realized that you did not intend to hurt me, you intended to hurt William. I want you to take this experience and grow from it. I'm not mad at you anymore. I know you were hurt. I don't want you to feel bad. I want you to take this and know that you should never have to give back at someone, especially a boy. You're an adult now and there are consequences for your actions. So, you have to be careful what you choose to post, say or do.' Lee's next case status check hearing is scheduled for Nov. 13. This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola teen who sent AI 'nude' photos made by boyfriend sentenced
