Illinois man charged under Wisconsin AI child porn law

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An Illinois man faces child pornography charges in Waukesha County under a new Wisconsin law that aims to punish offenders who use artificial intelligence to generate explicit images.

Prosecutors charged Aidan Brewis with three counts of possession of virtual child pornography, a class D felony that wasn’t even on the books in the state until 20 months ago.

Prosecutors say in a Jan. 20 criminal complaint that Brewis, 20, of Cary, Illinois, used an AI generator and photos of a 15-year-old Lisbon girl he knew in real life to create sexually explicit videos and images that were later saved on his cell phone.

Investigators were able to recover 50 AI-generated files from the device, the complaint said. Brewis told investigators he kept the images for himself and did not share them, according to the document.

Wisconsin recently adopted a ban that expanded the definition of child pornography to include digital or computer-generated images “that contain a visual representation that appears to depict a child engaged in sexually explicit conduct,” even if the child isn’t real.

The ban went into effect March 29, 2024, making Wisconsin one of 45 states to criminalize AI-generated child pornography.

Brewis’ attorney, Jonathan LaVoy, wouldn’t discuss details of Brewis’ case, but told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he had concerns about the constitutionality of the new law.

He argued the law, in its current form, is broadly written and potentially challenges free speech and other expression, including art that is protected under the First Amendment.

“The exact nature of what is created by AI matters,” said LaVoy of Wauwatosa. “A computer could create something that’s more artistic than pornographic. It could include a cartoon or artist drawing.”

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said in a recent report its CyberTipline saw an increase in the volume of reports involving Generative AI jump from 4,700 in 2023 to 67,000 in 2024.

Waukesha attorney Anthony Cotton is not associated with Brewis’ case but is representing an Elk Grove man who was charged similarly in a separate matter.

Cotton said one of the law’s complications is that, in many cases involving AI, there’s essentially no victim; the images often are generated by a computer program. That potentially runs counter with a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to confront or question an accuser. Because the law is so new, it’s hard to say whether cases like this that involve images of real minors will be viewed differently in court from those that don’t, Cotton and LaVoy both said.

Cotton noted the 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Ashcroft vs. Free Speech Coalition that ruled key provisions of the Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 were overbroad and violated the First Amendment.

The court maintained that banning “virtual” child pornography – computer-generated or altered images not involving real children – prohibited speech with serious artistic or social value.

Cotton, like LaVoy, expects the new law to be challenged.

“What if a person draws a nude child, and they’re so talented that they can draw a picture that’s so good … it looks like it’s a real child?” said Cotton of Waukesha. “Is using a computer program to draw a picture enough to send you to prison for three years, even if it’s disgusting?”

Court records show Brewis posted a $10,000 cash bond on Jan. 20 and was released.

Among the conditions of Brewis’ release are that he cannot have unsupervised contact with any child under the age of 18, nor is he allowed to use any social media such as KIK, Instagram or Snapchat.

Brewis also is prohibited from using any AI application. He is expected to be back in court for a hearing in the case on Feb. 11 before Court Commissioner Kevin Costello.