Army Spc. Seth Herrera, 34, a soldier at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, is accused of using artificial intelligence to create false images of children – including some he knew – in often violent sexual situations, authorities said. (US Department of Justice)
On Tuesday, a soldier from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska went on trial on charges he used artificial intelligence software to create, receive and distribute thousands of fake pornographic images of minors, including children he knew.
Spc. Seth Herrera, 34, pleaded not guilty to one count of transportation of child pornography, one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
If convicted, Herrera faces five to twenty years in prison.
According to court documents, Herrera was also told he may also be charged with attempted sexual exploitation of a child, which carries a minimum sentence of 15 years if convicted.
Judge Kyle Reardon of the U.S. District Court for Alaska presided over the arraignment, during which prosecutors presented their case against Herrera and asked that he remain in custody.
The indictment accuses Herrera of possessing tens of thousands of “visual depictions of brutal sexual abuse of children, even infants,” on three cell phones he owned.
Authorities said Herrera used encrypted messaging apps like Telegram to download “child sexual abuse materials.” Other apps used by Herrera include Potato Chat, Enigma and nandbox.
“The defendant created his own public Telegram group to store his (child sexual abuse material) and sent himself video files of screaming children being raped,” a court document said.
Using artificial intelligence software, Herrera combined videos, including images of children living near his Elmendorf-Richardson residence, with pornographic images. The AI software altered the face and other features to make it appear that the child had engaged in violent, sometimes incestuous sexual activity.
Prosecutors asked that Herrera remain in custody because they believe he poses a danger to his community and others.
“The defendant poses a serious danger to his minor daughter, who remains in his care,” prosecutors said.
Herrera also has a 15-year-old son who lives in Texas, the court document says.
Prosecutors said Herrera lived with his wife and daughter in a shelter on the Elmendorf-Richardson base and that their home was “surrounded by minors.”
As a heavy vehicle driver for the Army’s 11th Airborne Division, Herrera also had “access” to children in Fairbanks and Anchorage, they claimed.
A battalion of the 11th Airborne Division is stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, a joint Army-Air Force base. A second battalion of the 11th Airborne Division is stationed at Fort Wainwright near Fairbanks.
Prosecutors said forensic evidence from Herrera’s cellphones and interviews with him suggested his interest in child sexual abuse material dated back to at least early 2021.
Prosecutors also argued that Herrera posed a flight risk if released on bail. His ability to create the AI-generated images shows that Herrera knows how to alter images that could be used to create fake identification documents.
The judge ordered Herrera to be remanded in custody for trial at the Anchorage Correctional Complex, a medium-security prison in the state of Alaska.
Herrera was represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Benjamin Muse, who could not be reached for comment Wednesday. His next court date is scheduled for Oct. 1.
Herrera is a motor operator assigned to the 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 11th Airborne Division, the Army said. He joined the Army in November 2019 and was stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, Fort Bliss, Texas, and the Republic of Korea before arriving in Alaska in August 2023, according to Lt. Col. Leah Ganoni, a spokeswoman for the 11th Airborne Division.
Prosecutors alleged in court that Herrera had been accessing child pornography for several years. His actions were uncovered when he tried to access a link that authorities said contained “child sexual abuse material” depicting prepubescent minor girls his daughter’s age.
Herrera’s activities began before he was stationed in Alaska, and the “defendant secretly stored recordings and images of minors known to him that he had access to outside of Alaska in 2022 and 2023,” the court document states.
Herrera was indicted by a federal grand jury in Anchorage on August 22. Herrera was arrested on August 23. Authorities announced the charges against Herrera on Monday.
Under military guidelines issued in December, Herrera could be prosecuted by the Army’s Special Judicial Council. Michelle McCaskill, a spokeswoman for the Army’s Special Judicial Council, said the Justice Department plans to prosecute Herrera in civilian court.
The judge in Herrera’s case has a military legal background. Before becoming a justice of the peace and prosecutor, Reardon began his legal career with the Army Attorney General.
