North Texas teen accused of possessing, uploading AI-generated child sexual abuse material to TikTok, deputies say

A North Texas teen is facing a handful of charges after the Parker County Sheriff's Office said the teen used artificial intelligence to generate nude images of another child before uploading them to TikTok.

The sheriff's office said the Celina Police Department sent them information in September after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in July. The sheriff's office said TikTok had alerted the NCMEC that a user had shared the images on the platform, and the NCMEC then gave the information to Celina Police, as it was initially believed the user lived there. However, information about the user's internet provider later led investigators to Parker County in late September.

Parker County deputies said they executed a search warrant on Oct. 1 at a residence there and learned that the user was 16 years old. Two more search warrants were carried out for the TikTok account, and during an interview, deputies said the teen confessed to taking photos of a younger child and using AI to alter the images to make the child appear nude. 

The sheriff's office also said evidence indicated the suspect had used photos of at least three other victims for the same purpose, and that investigators identified all of the victims and notified their families.

The teen suspect was processed at the Parker County Sheriff's Office on Oct. 8, and deputies said the teen was released to their parents under state law. The suspect is now charged with possession of child pornography – a second-degree felony – along with voyeurism of a child victim and possession of certain visual material depicting a child, both of which are state jail felonies. Parker County deputies note the suspect now awaits juvenile court proceedings.