Ohio man pleads guilty to crafting AI-generated child porn using images of real kids

An Ohio man pleaded guilty Monday to two child pornography crimes, including using artificial intelligence to create sexually explicit content from images of real children, according to a press release from the Ohio U.S. Attorney’s office.

Austin Pittman, 35, of Hilliard, Ohio, confessed to distributing images of real child pornography as well as using AI “to morph videos and photos of real children” into pornographic images, U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II of the Southern District of Ohio said in a statement.

In 2025, the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received multiple reports of Pittman distributing pornography on Kik messenger. The images depicted an adult sexually abusing a child, the release reports.

In 2024, an investigation at Fort Bragg, North Carolina pinned Pittman as a suspect for uploading 47 files of child pornography to Kik messenger. He received an “Other than Honorable Discharge” from the Army, according to ABC 6 in Columbus.

In April, police with a search warrant seized many of Pittman’s devices. Law enforcement found images and videos of real children on Pittman’s phone, as well as photos and videos of himself, according to the release.

“Pittman then used AI programs to alter these images and depict the minor females as fully nude,” the press release says. 

Pittman was arrested and federally charged April 29 and pleaded guilty Monday before U.S. District Judge Douglas R. Cole.  

Creating “morphed child pornography” is a federal crime punishable by a prison sentence up to 15 years, and distributing or receiving child pornography merits a sentence from five to 20 years in prison, according to the release. The judge will determine the extent of the sentence at a future hearing, the release says.