New Jersey prosecutor charged with creating and sharing AI-generated abuse material

New Jersey deputy attorney general Brian Richard Fitzgerald was arrested on felony charges alleging he created and shared AI-generated child sexual abuse material. The case matters because Fitzgerald worked as a state prosecutor, and New Jersey officials say the law applies equally to people entrusted with enforcing it.

A tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about an image shared on Discord in July led investigators to use digital forensics and subscriber records to identify Fitzgerald. After searching his home, police said they found prompts and scripts for generating the material, as well as chat logs in which he allegedly admitted making and sharing multiple images. The 51-year-old, a deputy attorney general since 2016, faces charges of possessing and disseminating CSAM and criminal use of a communication facility.