Florida man wrongfully arrested after false facial recognition match
Robert Dillon was wrongfully arrested in August 2024 after Jacksonville police relied on a false facial recognition match from surveillance photos to charge him with attempting to lure a child at a restaurant over 300 miles from his home. Dillon was jailed, suffered financial and psychological harm, and has since filed a lawsuit; charges against him were dropped and his arrest record expunged.
What happened
In November 2023, a man allegedly lured a child at a fast-food restaurant in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. Jacksonville Sheriff's Office employees ran surveillance photos of the suspect through an AI-assisted facial recognition program, which generated a 93% match to Robert Dillon.
Based on the facial recognition match and an employee lineup identification, Jacksonville Beach police obtained an arrest warrant. Dillon was arrested in August 2024 by Lee County deputies at his home in San Carlos Park, more than 300 miles from Jacksonville Beach, where he said he had never been.
Reported impact
Dillon was jailed, forced to borrow money and pledge his truck title to post bond, and lost income during months of prosecution. After charges were dropped and his arrest record was expunged, Dillon reported ongoing trauma and said mugshots of him remain publicly accessible online.
Index analysis
The lawsuit alleges that facial recognition technology generated a false match to an innocent lookalike, misleading the witness in the photo lineup. Evidence that contradicted the arrest warrant was allegedly concealed: a McDonald's employee had said the suspect was a regular customer, automatic license plate readers showed no hits on Dillon's car near the restaurant around the crime date, and Dillon lived five hours away from Jacksonville Beach.
Governance controls
The prosecutor has since dropped charges against Dillon and his arrest record was expunged. Dillon is suing Jacksonville Beach Police Department, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, and Pinellas County Sheriff's Office; he is reportedly one of 15 known people wrongfully arrested due to facial recognition error in the United States.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.