Police say local man arrested for downloading ‘sadistic’ AI child porn and filming unsuspecting teens at mall
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GRAPHIC WARNING: This story includes graphic details about child sexual abuse images. Reader discretion is advised.
IDAHO FALLS — An Idaho Falls man was arrested after police say they found thousands of AI images depicting children in sexual and even violent scenarios.
Loyd Perry, 52, was arrested Wednesday and federally charged with obscene visual representation of the sexual abuse of children.
On Sept 25, a senior investigator for the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit received a cyber tip from an AI image-generating website showing someone had downloaded “obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children.”
The website identified the user as Perry and provided his email and username. The investigator then found Perry’s IP address and learned he lived in Idaho Falls.
According to court documents, Perry is already a registered sex offender and was convicted in 2002 for felony sexual abuse of a child under 16.
Perry was given a minimum of four years and a maximum of 15 years in prison.
“Local records indicate Perry was investigated by the Pocatello Police Department in 2001 for touching a 13-year-old female that was sleeping at a cheerleading camp hosted by Idaho State University,” says court documents.
On March 18, the investigator was granted a search warrant to view the 1,110 AI images provided in the cybertip. The artificially-generated photos reportedly showed life-like children, approximately 10 to 11 years old, in sexual positions.
When generating an AI image, the user will type out a prompt or description for the image they want to see, and the computer will generate it.
Perry allegedly asked for photos of a “terrified and shocked 10 year old,” in a sexual scenario.
The AI website reportedly provides a disclaimer about generating illegal images, stating, “We reserve the right to terminate access without notice or refunds, delete content, and report activity at our discretion to authorities. Content that may be considered Child Sexual Abuse Material will result in suspension and reporting to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. You are solely responsible for any consequences from the use, or inability to use, any content that you create using provided tools.”
On May 1, investigators with the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, Idaho Falls Police Department, Rupert Police Department/K9, United States Marshal Service, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho assisted the Idaho ICAC Task Force in executing a search warrant at Perry’s home.
When they arrived, Perry answered the door and explained that he lived in the basement. He then agreed to go to the sheriff’s office to discuss the search warrant.
During the interview, Perry stated he would not speak with investigators.
In the house, investigators found 18 “items of interest” including a black HP desktop computer. On the computer, was reportedly 17 images of AI child pornography.
The images reportedly showed life-like AI-generated children between the ages of 9 and 12 in sexual scenarios.
Perry’s search history also reportedly showed “hundreds of searches for child-related material,” including searches on a Russian website that is allegedly well-known to contain child pornography.
A Bonneville County Sheriff’s detective also reportedly found a black key fob in Perry’s bedroom that had a hidden camera.
Detectives looked at the footage and found videos of teenage girls around 15-years-old, where the camera focus is on their “breast and groin areas without their knowledge.”
Court records state Perry works in sales at a kiosk located in the Grand Teton Mall in Idaho Falls, and this is where they believe the videos were taken.
Another investigator found Perry’s cell phone, which contained violent images depicting children covered in blood, engaging in sexual scenarios.
Court records state these images “appeared to be sadistic in nature.”
The search history on the phone reportedly showed searches for “pre-teen” and for the AI website Perry reportedly used to generate child pornography images.
Perry was arrested and booked into the Jefferson County Jail where people are incarcerated for federal crimes. His bail amount is unknown, but Perry was able to bond out and was released on May 3.
Further court appearances have not yet been scheduled. If convicted, Perry could face up to life in prison.
“This case involves thousands of AI-generated images of child sexual abuse,” Attorney General Raul Labrador said in a news release. “Idaho’s recent law criminalizing AI images of child sexual abuse doesn’t go into effect until July 1st, but this case spotlights the critical problem the law now addresses. I’m grateful for the hard work of our ICAC Unit and to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho, whose team will be prosecuting this case federally.”
Anyone with information regarding the exploitation of children is encouraged to contact local police, the Attorney General’s ICAC Unit at (208) 947-8700, or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678.
The Attorney General’s ICAC Unit works with the Idaho ICAC Task Force, a coalition of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, to investigate and prosecute individuals who use the internet to criminally exploit children.
Parents, educators, and law enforcement officials can find more information and helpful resources at the ICAC website, ICACIdaho.org.