FOX 2 - A 35-year-old South Lyon man has been charged with possession of child pornography with investigators finding more than 40,000 images.
The backstory:
Austin McCarty is charged with three counts of aggravated possession of child sexually abusive material and three counts of using a computer to commit a crime.
The investigation began when McCarty's wife reported seeing a sexual image of a young girl on her husband's computer Jan. 20, 2025.
McCarty allegedly told his wife that he used an artificial intelligence tool to generate sexually explicit images of children.
Police seized the South Lyon man's electronics, and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department discovered more than 40,000 images of Child Sexually Abusive Material during a year-long forensic examination of the defendant’s devices.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said in a statement if AI was involved, it is still illegal.
"Even as technology changes, the laws against child sexually abusive material remain constant," she said. "It doesn’t matter if images are created with AI or a camera; they represent the abuse of children. We will hold accountable anyone who would harm and sexually exploit children, regardless of the technology they use."
Aggravated possession of child sexually abusive material is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and/or a $50,000 fine. Use of a computer to commit a crime is punishable by a sentence of 10–20 years in prison.
The Source: Information for this report is from the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office.