The U.S. Attorney’s Office said James Stahler II pleaded guilty to cyberstalking and other crimes, including the use of AI-generated sexually explicit images.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Columbus man pleaded guilty in federal court on Tuesday to cybercrime charges where he distributed real and AI-generated sexually explicit images and threatened several people.
James Strahler II, 37, was convicted of cyberstalking, producing obscene visual representations of child sexual abuse and publication of digital forgeries.
According to United States Attorney Dominick Gerace II’s office, Strahler is the first person in the country to be convicted of violating the Take It Down Act. The act was signed into law in May 2025. It prohibits the nonconsensual online publication of intimate visual depictions of individuals, both authentic and computer-generated.
Strahler was first charged locally in 2025 after a victim contacted the Hilliard Police Department about threatening and harassing messages she and her mother received. Those messages included nude photos of the victim, including explicit AI-generated photos.
Strahler admitted to being responsible for those messages, and he was charged and released several days later. However, three months later, that same victim contacted Hilliard police again after receiving similar messages from an unknown number.
Court records show that investigators got a search warrant for Strahler’s phone, where it showed calls, messages and images used to harass the victim and others. The evidence led to federal charges, and Strahler was arrested in June 2025.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, between December 2024 and June 2025, Strahler sent harassing messages to at least six women. The messages included nude images of the victims, both real and AI-generated. In at least one case, Strahler then distributed those videos to the victim’s coworkers or family members.
Officials said Strahler would also leave explicit messages for the victims and threaten rape.
Strahler would also post online AI-generated obscenities he created of children, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. He created more than 700 images of both real victims, including boys from his community, and animated persons and posted them to a website dedicated to child sexual abuse. Investigators also found 2,400 explicit images and videos on his phone, including child sexual abuse material.
“We believe Strahler is the first person in the United States to be convicted under the Take It Down Act,” said U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II in a news release. “We will not tolerate the abhorrent practice of posting and publicizing AI-generated intimate images of real individuals without consent. And we are committed to using every tool at our disposal to hold accountable offenders like Strahler, who seek to intimidate and harass others by creating and circulating this disturbing content.”
Strahler’s sentencing will occur at a later date.
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