Man Arrested for Recording Children at Disney World to Create AI-Generated Abuse Images
A man arrested in mid-2023 reportedly admitted to recording children at Disney World without consent and using Stable Diffusion to generate thousands of illegal images of child sexual abuse. He faces multiple child exploitation charges and a jury trial was scheduled for October 2024.
What happened
Justin Culmo, arrested in mid-2023, admitted to creating thousands of illegal images of children recorded at Disney World in Orlando, Florida using a version of the AI model Stable Diffusion, according to federal agents who presented the case to law enforcement officials in Australia in early August 2024.
Culmo was accused of child exploitation crimes in Florida, including abuse of his two daughters, secret recording of minors, and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on the dark web.
Reported impact
Jim Cole, a former child exploitation investigator for the Department of Homeland Security, stated: 'This case clearly highlights the ruthless exploitation that AI can enable when used by someone with the intent to harm' and 'This is not just a serious violation of privacy, it is a targeted attack on the safety of children in our communities.'
The incident represents 'perhaps the most macabre example so far of image manipulation by artificial intelligence, which may have victimized many Disney World visitors.'
Index analysis
Culmo was not charged with CSAM production using artificial intelligence, which is a crime under U.S. law.
Disney stated that authorities had not contacted the company about the alleged activities in its park.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.