A Texas man is facing child porn charges after investigators say he used artificial intelligence to undress a teenage girl.

Authorities arrested Roman Shoffner, 30, on June 28 on a charge of possession of child pornography, Montgomery County Precinct 3 Constable Ryan Gable said in a July 1 news release.

The arrest comes weeks after an investigation was launched on May 15, the constable said, though it’s unclear what tipped authorities off to Shoffner’s alleged activities.

“Shoffner used an artificial intelligence program on his cellular phone to alter a picture of a 17-year-old female by removing her clothing,” according to the constable’s office. In the image, the teen’s face was unchanged, but she was rendered naked “from the neck down.”

Detectives took Shoffner’s phone and had it analysed, the constable said. Based on evidence gathered, detectives believe Shoffner created the image “with intentions of possessing Child Pornography,” and he was arrested.

The arrest was the first of its kind in Montgomery County and was made possible due to an amendment made to Texas law in 2023, Lt Ken Washington told KRIV

“The modifications in the law that happened in 2023 stated that you can’t have a modified image - one that depicts child porn,” Washington said. “This one is the first time we’ve filed this charge.”

Montgomery County is a roughly 40-mile (64km) drive north from Houston.

While altering images is nothing new, the rise of AI has made it easier and faster to create convincing fakes. Lawmakers are aware of how the technology can be abused, and US Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) recently unveiled a bipartisan bill - dubbed the TAKE IT DOWN Act - largely in response to increasing deepfakes and similar digitally-generated content.

The bill would, in part, put greater accountability on social media companies and websites, where these images often circulate and are seen by a wide audience.

“In recent years, we’ve witnessed a stunning increase in exploitative sexual material online, largely due to bad actors taking advantage of newer technologies like generative artificial intelligence. Many women and girls are forever harmed by these crimes, having to live with being victimised again and again,” Cruz said.

“By... putting the responsibility on websites to have in place procedures to remove these images, our bill will protect and empower all victims of this heinous crime.”

 - TNS