A New Jersey deputy attorney general, known online as "thegentlemanpervert," has been arrested and charged with producing and distributing AI-generated child sexual abuse material, a rare case of a state law enforcement official facing such charges. NJ District Attorney Joe Khan affirmed the state's alignment with the DOJ in treating AI CSAM as equally harmful as traditional CSAM.
<p>New Jersey’s deputy attorney general, Brian Richard Fitzgerald, was arrested on “felony charges related to AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM),” Bucks County Detectives said in a <a href="https://www.buckscounty.gov/m/newsflash/home/detail/1647">press release</a> Thursday.</p>
<p>In the US, cops have vowed to crack down on AI CSAM since at least 2024, when the Department of Justice made <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/05/csam-generated-by-ai-is-still-csam-doj-says-after-rare-arrest">one of the earliest arrests</a>. After charging a Wisconsin man with spreading “thousands of realistic images of prepubescent minors” across Telegram and Instagram, the DOJ clarified to law enforcement that “CSAM generated by AI is still CSAM.”</p>
<img width="640" height="816" src="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/via-Bucks-County-Detectives-Brian-Richard-Fitzgerald-640x816.jpg" class="none medium" alt="" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/via-Bucks-County-Detectives-Brian-Richard-Fitzgerald-640x816.jpg 640w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/via-Bucks-County-Detectives-Brian-Richard-Fitzgerald-768x979.jpg 768w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/via-Bucks-County-Detectives-Brian-Richard-Fitzgerald-980x1250.jpg 980w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/via-Bucks-County-Detectives-Brian-Richard-Fitzgerald.jpg 1010w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px">
New Jersey’s deputy attorney general, Brian Richard Fitzgerald, was arrested at his home Thursday.
Credit:
<a href="https://www.buckscounty.gov/m/newsflash/home/detail/1647" target="_blank">via Bucks County Detectives</a>
<p>On Thursday, New Jersey officials accused 51-year-old Fitzgerald of using AI to make photos from social media of real minors into sexualized images that he then distributed on social media.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/10/thegentlemanpervert-producing-ai-csam-is-a-nj-prosecutor-say-cops/">Read full article</a></p>
<p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/10/thegentlemanpervert-producing-ai-csam-is-a-nj-prosecutor-say-cops/#comments">Comments</a></p>
# “thegentlemanpervert” producing AI CSAM is a NJ prosecutor, say cops
Source: [https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/10/thegentlemanpervert-producing-ai-csam-is-a-nj-prosecutor-say-cops/](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/10/thegentlemanpervert-producing-ai-csam-is-a-nj-prosecutor-say-cops/)
Fitzgerald’s is a rare case where an official employed by the state’s top law enforcement and legal office has been accused of making and distributing AI CSAM, although some cops have been arrested for the crime\. Earlier this year, a Pennsylvania cop was[arrested for making AI porn from photos on driver’s licenses](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/04/state-police-corporal-created-porn-deepfakes-from-drivers-license-photos/), and more recently in Korea, a police officer was arrested for making AI porn, including CSAM, The Korea Times[reported](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/law-crime/20261004/police-officer-arrested-over-ai-generated-sexual-deepfakes)\.
In New Jersey, the deputy attorney general has been charged with possession of CSAM, dissemination of photos or film of CSAM, and “criminal use of a communication facility,” detectives said\.
According to his LinkedIn, Fitzgerald had served as deputy attorney general since 2016, preparing insurance fraud and insurance licensee cases for trial as a state prosecutor\. New Jersey’s district attorney, Joe Khan, said in a statement that New Jersey is aligned with the DOJ in viewing AI CSAM as being as harmful as CSAM\.
“No one is above the law, least of all someone entrusted with upholding it,” Khan said\. “Our office will pursue these cases aggressively and hold offenders fully accountable, regardless of their profession or title\.”
xAI is suing a South Carolina man who allegedly used its Grok AI chatbot to generate and distribute child sexual abuse material (CSAM), marking the first time the company has taken legal action over deepfakes created with its tool.
FBI agent explains how suspects posting AI-generated non-consensual intimate images are easily identified, as demonstrated by an arrest where the suspect used his own photo as a profile picture.
xAI sues a Grok user for generating child sexual abuse material, as evidence mounts that its AI chatbot can still produce illegal content despite Musk's denials.
A UK police officer is under criminal investigation for allegedly using AI to fabricate evidence, marking the first such case in the country. The incident has prompted reviews of affected cases and broader concerns about AI reliability in police work.
A lawsuit alleges that a man used xAI's Grok to generate 7,000 AI child sex images of his stepdaughter, and that xAI obstructed the police investigation by withholding critical user information. The case highlights severe safety failures and potential regulatory implications.