Whitestown Man Accused of Using AI to Create Child Sex Abuse Material
BOONE COUNTY, Ind. — A man from Whitestown is accused of using artificial intelligence to create child sex abuse material.
Police started investigating 46-year-old Joseph Boots in February after the Boone County Child Abuse and Sexual Exploitation Task Force received a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
According to the tip, Boots used AI to produce images that contained child sex abuse material. Investigators also say there was an incident in 2013 involving an adult victim when Boots pleasured himself near a child.
A search warrant was conducted at Boots’ home on May 14. Multiple agencies, including the Boone County Child Abuse and Sexual Exploitation Task Force, seized a “large number” of Boots’ digital devices, with some of them containing inappropriate and illegal material. Police also found a “child-sized lifelike doll” inside his bedroom.
Court documents state that the devices belonging to Boots contained photos and videos depicting the material with victims younger than 12 years old.
Boots was arrested and taken to the Boone County Jail, facing the following charges:
Two counts of child exploitation, Level 5 felony
Four counts of possession of child sex abuse material, Level 5 felony
Possession of child Pornography, Level 5 felony
Possession of child Sex Abuse Material, Level 6 felony
Performing sexual conduct in the presence of a minor
Additional charges could be filed against Boots at a later time. He appeared in Boone Superior Court 1 on Monday for an initial hearing.
Whitestown Man Accused of Using AI to Create Child Sex Abuse Material was originally published on wibc.com
