By: Richard L. Smith
A New Jersey Deputy Attorney General is facing serious criminal charges in Pennsylvania after authorities accused him of using artificial intelligence to create and distribute sexually explicit images involving minors.
According to information released by the Bucks County District Attorney's Office, Brian Richard Fitzgerald, 51, was arrested Thursday, October 15, at his home in Lower Makefield Township, Pennsylvania.
Fitzgerald, who serves as a Deputy Attorney General with the New Jersey Attorney General's Office, allegedly used an artificial intelligence program to generate illegal images of minors and distribute them through the online messaging platform Discord.
Authorities said the investigation began after the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received information concerning an explicit image shared through Discord in July.
Investigators reportedly traced the online activity to an internet address associated with Fitzgerald's residence.
During a search of his home, detectives allegedly recovered digital instructions used to generate the images, along with online conversations in which Fitzgerald appeared to acknowledge creating the material.
Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan emphasized that his office would aggressively prosecute such offenses, stating that individuals entrusted with enforcing the law are not exempt from accountability.
Fitzgerald faces charges involving possession and distribution of explicit images of minors, along with criminal use of a communication facility.
Following his arraignment Thursday, Fitzgerald was held on $2 million bail.
A preliminary hearing is expected later this month.