ANSON, TX – An Anson ISD employee is facing federal charges after he allegedly used AI to superimpose the faces of students onto the faces of adult subjects in pornographic videos.
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton announced the charges on Oct. 16 via press release.
Daril Martin Gonzales, 55, was indicted last Wednesday, according to the release.
Gonzales faces one count of possession and attempted possession of child pornography and one count of possession and attempted possession of obscene visual representation of a child.
Gonzales appeared in court last Thursday before Magistrate Judge John R. Parker, who ruled on Tuesday that he remain in custody while awaiting trial.
During the hearing, prosecutors pointed out that Gonzales, in addition to his job as a janitor for Anson ISD, also volunteered as a photographer for school sports and cheerleading events.
As a volunteer, Gonzales regularly took free photos of middle and high school students.
Gonzales allegedly used artificial intelligence(AI) to superimpose pre-pubescent children’s faces onto the faces of adult subjects in sexually explicit videos or to attach AI-generated nude bodies to the faces of the girls.
Gonzales allegedly described his crimes as a “power trip” and admitted to viewing child pornography for up to six hours per day for the past 20 to 25 years.
The evidence was a police report admitted during a detention hearing.
“Knowing he took those [photographs] and what he does with them, it really makes me sick to my stomach,” a victim said in late August, after being informed about the AI images. “I feel gross, I know it’s not me, but it makes me feel gross and violated and disrespected.”
“I felt disgusted, embarrassed, and scared. I was worried that photos of me could be posted or sold somewhere,” said another. “I was embarrassed cause I didn’t want people to think of me in this way when I hadn’t done anything.”
“I know I can’t do anything about what he did,” said a third. “I don’t think I did anything wrong. He’s in the wrong.”
Gonzales is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison followed by a possible lifetime of supervised release.