Three felonies, $2M bail: One of NJ deputy attorneys general is charged in AI child pornography case
⚠️ A New Jersey deputy attorney general was charged with three felonies in Pennsylvania.
➡️ Brian R. Fitzgerald is accused of having AI-generated and other child sexual abuse materials.
🔴 Fitzgerald has worked for the NJ Attorney General’s Office since 2016.
A deputy attorney general with the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office is accused of creating and sharing child sexual abuse material online, using artificial intelligence.
Brian Richard Fitzgerald lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where he was arrested at his Lower Makefield home on Thursday.
Fitzgerald was charged with three felonies — possession of child sexual abuse material, dissemination of photos or film of child sexual abuse materials, and criminal use of a communication facility.
Discord investigation led police to AI-generated abuse material
The investigation began after a cybertip about material shared to the Discord social media platform on July 10, according to an affidavit filed in the case.
On Thursday, investigators recovered chat logs from Discord, where the 51-year-old Fitzgerald’s username was “thegentlemanpervert_2160_07833.”
The logs showed him admitting to creating the AI child sexual abuse materials, police said.
Law enforcement also recovered the AI prompts and scripts that Fitgerald is accused of using in the same process.
Detectives also found that Fitzgerald used another social media platform to access child sexual abuse material with “real” human victims and shared that as well.
Read More: Bergen County TV producer and dad accused of child deepfake
NJ deputy attorney general earns nearly $139,000 a year
As of this year, Fitzgerald was earning a salary of $138,649, as one of roughly 500 deputy attorneys general working for the state Division of Law.
His assignments are within the Banking and Insurance section.
Fitzgerald has worked for the Office of the Attorney General since May 2016.
“Our office is aware of the charges that have been filed against an employee of the Division of Law. We are cooperating with our partners in the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office and are taking appropriate action with respect to his employment," a spokesperson for the state Office of the Attorney General said to New Jersey 101.5 on Thursday evening.
Fitzgerald held in PA on $2 million bail as case moves forward
Following his arraignment, bail was set at $2 million, with possibility for release pending trial after a $200,000 deposit.
Fitzgerald was being held at Bucks County jail.
“No one is above the law, least of all someone entrusted with upholding it,” Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan said in a written statement.
“Our office will pursue these cases aggressively and hold offenders fully accountable, regardless of their profession or title.”
A preliminary court hearing was scheduled for later this month.
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