Ohio Man Convicted Under Take It Down Act for AI-Generated Child Exploitation
An Ohio man has become the first individual to be convicted under the Trump administration’s Take It Down Act, a federal law that criminalizes the dissemination of non-consensual explicit images, including those created through AI-driven deepfake technology, the Justice Department announced in a news release on Tuesday.
James Straller II, 37, was apprehended in June 2025 for using AI to produce non-consensual images and videos involving both adult and minor victims. He pleaded guilty to charges of cyberstalking, creating obscene footage of child sexual abuse material, and distributing digital fabrications, legally defined as deepfakes.
According to the Justice Department’s statement, Straller manipulated images of boys he knew within his community, merging their faces with those of adults and other children to create explicit content depicting sexual acts, often involving family members. Straller shared over 700 images and animations on a website that specializes in child sexual abuse material.
The investigation revealed that Straller possessed approximately 2,400 images and videos on his phone featuring nudity, violence, and AI-generated depictions of child sexual abuse. He had also downloaded more than 24 AI platforms along with over 100 web-based AI models.
In addition to his criminal activities, Straller sent messages containing both real and AI-generated nude images to at least six adult female victims. He also produced at least one AI-generated video showing an adult victim in a sexual situation with her father, which he distributed to colleagues.
First Lady Melania Trump expressed support for the legislation, stating her pride in collaborating with Congress to provide legal protections for victims of such cybercrimes. She highlighted the commitment to create a robust legal framework aimed at safeguarding innocent individuals from exploitation.
President Donald Trump signed the Erasure Act into law in May 2025, which not only makes non-consensual intimate deepfakes illegal but also mandates that online platforms remove such content within 48 hours of receiving a report. This initiative, part of the First Lady’s “Be Best” campaign, aims to ensure that victims have actionable channels for recourse. Online platforms are required to implement processes by next month to efficiently handle reports of non-consensual content.
White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt described Straller’s conviction as a significant victory for the First Lady, emphasizing the administration’s commitment to protecting youth. In a related note, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced the bill in June 2024, which garnered unanimous support in the Senate and passed the House with a 409-2 vote. Legal violations pertaining to this law could result in fines and prison sentences up to two years for adult victims and up to three years for minors.
The administration’s actions come in response to escalating concerns surrounding AI-generated child sexual abuse materials. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported more than 1.5 million incidents related to AI-generated exploitation in 2025 alone.
In addition to the Take It Down Act, there’s a growing push from Congress and state legislators to establish additional laws aimed at further penalizing the creation of AI-generated child exploitation content. The Senate recently passed the Necessary Federal Crime Enhancement for Child Exploitation (ENFORCE) Act, which seeks to equate the prosecution of creators and distributors of AI-generated abuse material with those who produce non-AI-generated content. Although this bill has yet to progress in the House, at least 45 states have enacted local laws targeting AI deepfakes, particularly those affecting minors, according to research by the watchdog group Public Citizen.
