Anson ISD Janitor Allegedly Used AI to Create Child Pornography With Students’ Faces

An Anson ISD employee who allegedly used AI to superimpose the faces of students onto the faces of adult subjects in pornographic videos has been federally charged, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Daril Martin Gonzales, 55, was indicted last Wednesday on 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. He was arraigned on Thursday before Magistrate Judge John R. Parker, who on Tuesday ordered him detained pending trial.

At Tuesday's detention hearing, prosecutors noted that Mr. Gonzales, who works as a janitor for Anson ISD, moonlighted as a school sports and cheerleading photographer, taking pictures of middle and high school students for free. Without the children's consent, he allegedly used artificial intelligence (AI) to superimpose the faces of pre-pubescent students onto the faces of adult subjects in sexually explicit videos or to attach AI-generated nude bodies to the faces of the girls.

According a police report admitted into evidence at the detention hearing, Mr. 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.

"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."

An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Like all defendants, Mr. 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.

Homeland Security Investigations' Dallas Field Division - Abilene Resident Agency, Abilene Police Department, the Texas Rangers, and the Anson Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Whitney Ohlhausen is prosecuting the case.