35-year-old Illinois man produces AI-generated child pornography of relative and her mother during custody dispute leading to arrest and custody placement

Summary

A 35-year-old Lake County, Illinois man, Stuart Lowrey, was arrested on April 1, 2023, for producing AI-generated child pornography depicting a relative and her mother. Lowrey allegedly created explicit videos using images of the child and her mother during an ongoing custody dispute, admitting to fabricating a story about finding the content on a stranger’s phone. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office investigated after inconsistencies in his account, leading to the discovery of multiple AI-generated videos on his phone. Lowrey was charged with five counts of producing child pornography and initially faced a false report charge; the child was placed in protective custody by Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. The case remains under investigation, with potential additional charges, and Lowrey is detained awaiting trial.