Bucks County detectives announced Thursday that Brian Richard Fitzgerald, a deputy attorney general in New Jersey, was arrested at his home on felony charges tied to AI‑generated child sexual abuse material, or CSAM. The arrest follows a broader federal effort that began in 2024, when the Department of Justice secured one of the first convictions for AI‑generated CSAM. In that case, a Wisconsin man was charged after distributing thousands of realistic images of prepubescent children on platforms such as Telegram and Instagram, prompting the DOJ to remind law‑enforcement agencies that AI‑created CSAM is treated the same as traditional CSAM.
According to New Jersey officials, the 51‑year‑old Fitzgerald used artificial‑intelligence tools to transform photographs of real minors that he found on social media into sexualized images. He then shared those AI‑altered pictures across various social‑media networks. The investigation and subsequent arrest underscore the growing commitment of authorities to combat the misuse of AI technology in the production and distribution of illegal child sexual abuse content.