19-year-old facing 10 charges for distributing child pornography created with AI

AUSTIN, Texas — As AI technology increasingly integrates more into daily life, Austin Police say crimes involving child pornography using AI are becoming more and more common.

Earlier this month, the Austin Police Department (APD) arrested 19-year-old Jack Bullington on multiple charges related to creating and distributing explicit images of underage girls on social media.

APD said Bullington cropped images of 11 underage girls’ faces onto female nude bodies in a pornographic manner and posted them on the social media platform X. Police say he requested the explicit images to be altered, and agreed to pay for the modifications.

Bullington is now facing 10 charges, including possession and promotion of child pornography. Six of the charges have already been indicted by a Travis County grand jury.

APD Sergeant Russel Weirich with the Tactical Investigations Command and Child Exploitation Unit said additional charges are pending as investigators work to identify more victims.

But up until a few years ago, these were charges APD wouldn't have been able to pursue.

“There were laws on the books there, but it didn’t specifically address AI,” Weirich said. “There was a lot of stuff going on that wasn’t technically illegal. It was really in poor taste, and it was terrible for the victims, but we weren’t able to do a whole lot.”

Rise in Child Exploitation Cases Involving AI

Over the last few years, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) has seen a dramatic surge in AI-related child exploitation cases. The organization uses a cyber tip line for the public and electronic service providers to report suspected sexual exploitation.

Jennifer Newman, the executive director of NCMEC, said the organization saw a 1,300% increase in cyber tip line reports involving generative AI technology last year, from just 4,700 reports in 2023, to 67,000 reports in 2024.

“We are seeing offenders manipulating existing child sexual abuse material to depict even more abuse,” Newman said. “We are seeing offenders asking how they can avoid detection or become more successful in targeting children.”

In Texas alone, more than 74,000 cyber tip line reports of all possible child exploitation, both involving AI and not, were referred to law enforcement in 2024.

Legislative Response

In response to the growing crisis, lawmakers at the state and federal levels have been trying to put a stop to child pornography created with AI through new legislation.

Here in Texas, Senate Bill 20, now passed by both the House and Senate would create a new felony for possession or promotion of child pornography that depicts a child under 18, whether it’s of a real child or generated through AI. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said this bill would “cut off any loopholes in the law” to protect kids.

At the federal level, President Donald Trump signed into law the “Take It Down Act”, introduced by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz from Texas last week. That law gives stricter punishments for revenge pornography and images altered by AI. It also requires social media platforms to remove this content within 48 hours of notification.

“We’re really starting to get traction on some of this legislation that was that we’ve been able to use,” Weirich said. “It really helps our victims and gives them some respite in what they're able to do and start healing and getting over that trauma.”

Protecting Children Online

Law enforcement and advocacy groups are also emphasizing the importance of education and communication with children about online safety.

“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,” Newman said.

In Austin, the Center for Child Protection is a local resource that offers support for victims in their families.

As APD continues to pursue charges for sexual exploitation of children, they want to remind people that using AI for this purpose will have major consequences.

“The images created in this fashion are illegal and the actions taken create trauma and embarrassment for the victims,” Weirich said. “We want this to serve as a deterrent to anyone considering generating this type of sexual abuse material.”