Federal officials warn of AI-generated child sexual abuse material surge

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCTV) - Federal officials are warning that criminals are using artificial intelligence to create child sexual abuse material from innocent photos.

U.S. Attorney Ryan Kriegshauser said Kansas is seeing more cases as part of a national increase in prosecutions. He said creating, trafficking and possessing child sexual abuse material is a crime whether the image is fake or not.

Federal prosecutors say child sexual abuse material cases are climbing nationwide. Cases are up 34% since 2020, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

Cyber tips surge in Kansas

The Kansas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force says cyber tips have skyrocketed. In 2014, the task force received about 643 cyber tips. Last year, it received over 11,000.

“Now if you think of the amount of data that takes when an image is just a 15 second video or a JPEG image...it’s a huge problem,” said Sgt. Jeff Swanson of the Kansas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

The task force says the surge is not just from sharing illegal images. Criminals are now making them.

FBI warns of sextortion threats

The FBI is warning about sextortion, in which predators use threats to extort explicit images or money. They often target kids through apps, games and messaging platforms.

“Simply put, sextortion is a form of online blackmail in which predators use coercion and manipulation to extort sexual images, sexual favors or money from victims,” said Jeff Berkebile of the FBI Kansas City office.

Lisa Mizell, CEO of the Child Protection Center, said as the internet has grown, so has AI-generated abuse content.

“I think our CSAM numbers, which is, you know kids who’ve been exploited on the internet for the most part are going up,” Mizell said.

The Child Protection Center conducts forensic interviews for abuse victims and offers therapy for children and families. You can learn more about the nonprofit or donate here.

Parents urged to monitor online activity

Mizell said prevention starts with parents knowing what kids do online and keeping that conversation open.

“I think it’s vitally important for parents to always pay attention to what their children are doing with their phones, online, TV, with their tablets, everything,” Mizell said.

Officials say AI-generated images and expanded internet access are driving the surge in reports. They urge parents to talk with kids early about online red flags.

Investigators say if a child is being threatened or if exploitation is suspected, it should be reported immediately to local law enforcement or the FBI at tips.fbi.gov.

Kriegshauser spoke Tuesday at a press conference in Kansas City, Kansas, as part of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.