A federal grand jury has indicted Seth Herrera, 35, a U.S. Army soldier formerly of El Paso, Texas, on charges of attempted sexual exploitation of a child and receipt of files depicting child sexual abuse.
Court documents allege that Herrera used encrypted messaging applications to search for, receive, and download child sexual abuse material (CSAM) over several years, starting in 2021. He is also accused of using artificial intelligence programs to generate CSAM involving children he personally knew. Additionally, Herrera allegedly took covert photos and videos of these children undressing in his El Paso home.
Herrera is already facing related charges in Alaska for the alleged transportation, receipt, and possession of CSAM, including AI-generated material, while stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. Authorities report that Herrera possessed thousands of such images and that his case highlights the growing threat posed by the misuse of AI to create exploitative content.
The investigation is being led by Homeland Security Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse, especially those crimes facilitated by the internet