Criminal defense attorney explains why juvenile case could move to adult criminal court

Criminal defense attorney explains why juvenile case could move to adult criminal court

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL)- Following the recent transfer of a Johnson City 17-year-old's case from juvenile to adult criminal court, News Channel 11 sat down with an area criminal defense attorney to discuss the case. Christian Jayden Zarate is accused of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to turn photos of his classmates into sexually explicit images. [...]

17 year old JC juvenile facing charges after using AI to create child pornography of classmates

A 17-year-old in Johnson City juvenile is set to be tried as an adult after he allegedly used Artificial Intelligence to create child pornography of his classmates. Christian Jayden Zarate faces 28 counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, among other charges. A report was filed with the Johnson City Police Department in December 2025, when officers allegedly found more than 50 images that would be considered child pornogra…