US EditionOhio man becomes first person convicted under federal law criminalizing intimate deepfakes, DOJ says
Prosecutors said James Strahler used more than 24 AI platforms to create over 700 explicit images and videos targeting women and children.
- On Tuesday, 37-year-old James Strahler II of Columbus pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to cyberstalking and creating obscene AI-generated imagery, becoming the first person convicted under the federal Take It Down Act.
- Enacted in 2025 and signed by President Donald Trump, the Take It Down Act specifically criminalizes the distribution of nonconsensual intimate images and AI-generated forgeries designed to harass victims.
- Prosecutors revealed Strahler utilized more than 24 AI platforms and 100 web-based models to harass at least six adult women and minor boys, morphing their faces onto explicit content and demanding nude photographs.
- U.S. Attorney Dominick Gerace II condemned the "abhorrent practice," stating his office is committed to using "every tool at our disposal" to hold offenders accountable for circulating AI-generated content.
30 Articles
30 Articles
Melania Trump Applauds First Conviction Under ‘Take It Down Act’ for Online Sexual Abuse Materials
First Lady Melania Trump celebrated the first conviction under the “Take It Down Act,” a law she strongly advocated for in 2025. “I am proud to have worked with Congress to provide U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II with a strong legal mechanism to protect innocent victims from cybercrimes of this nature,” the first lady wrote in an X post on Tuesday. James Strahler II pleaded guilty in a U.S. District Court on Tuesday to cyberstalking, produci…
NEWS HEADLINES: First Lady Melania Trump announces first conviction under ‘TAKE IT DOWN Act’ – One America News Network
(L) James Strahler (Photo via: Franklin County Sheriff’s Office) /(R) U.S. first lady Melania Trump on March 25, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images) OAN Staff Brooke Mallory4:44 PM – Wednesday, April 8, 2026 First Lady Melania Trump praised a significant milestone in her advocacy for digital safety this week, hailing the first federal conviction under the “TAKE IT DOWN Act.“ The landmark case, involving a disturbed Ohio…
Feds Convict First Person for Crimes Under 'Take It Down' Act
Federal prosecutors secured their first conviction under the Take It Down Act yesterday after an Ohio man pled guilty to crimes including distributing sexually explicit AI deepfakes of women and children. “We will not tolerate the abhorrent practice of posting and publicizing AI-generated intimate images of real individuals without consent,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Dominick S. Gerace II wrote in a press release following …
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