Man convicted under Take It Down Act for AI-generated nonconsensual intimate images and CSAM
James Strahler II pleaded guilty to using AI tools to create and distribute nonconsensual intimate image deepfakes of adult women and AI-generated child sexual abuse material, sentencing him to 15 years in prison as the first person convicted under the Take It Down Act.
What happened
From December 2024 until June 2025, James Strahler II used more than 24 AI platforms and more than 100 AI web-based models installed on his phone to create and distribute sexually explicit deepfake videos and images.
Strahler created AI-generated pornographic videos depicting adult victims engaged in sex acts and distributed them to victims' co-workers. He also created AI-generated obscene material depicting minor boys from his community by morphing their faces onto the bodies of adults or other children engaged in sex acts, including incestuous scenarios. He posted over 700 such images to a website dedicated to child sexual abuse.
Strahler engaged in a campaign of harassment using telephone calls, voicemails, text messages and web postings, sending harassing messages to at least six adult female victims that included both real and AI-generated nude images. He threatened victims and their mothers with circulation of explicit images if they did not comply with demands for nude photos, and referred to victims' specific home addresses in threats.
Reported impact
At least six adult female victims received harassing messages including nude images both real and AI-generated. Victims were threatened with rape and had their home addresses referenced in threats.
Minor boys in the community had their faces used to create AI-generated child sexual abuse material depicting them in sexual acts, including with family members.
Index analysis
Strahler pleaded guilty in April 2025 to cyberstalking, producing obscene visual representations of child sexual abuse and publication of digital forgeries under the Take It Down Act, making him the first person convicted under that law in the United States.
Governance controls
The Take It Down Act, enacted in 2025, prohibits non-consensual online publication of intimate visual depictions and AI forgeries. Strahler's case represents the first prosecution under this law.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.