How a deepfake AI porn scandal shocked a small town
A small Pennsylvania town was rocked by an AI deepfake porn scandal. As these platforms evolve, school policies and legal recourse lag far behind.
LANCASTER, PA – A small community and elite private school was rocked after it came to light in May 2024 that two male students had created 347 explicit deepfake photos and videos of 60 girls.
Nearly two years later, the victims shared their stories in court, highlighting the long-lasting trauma and wide-ranging impacts of deepfake abuse.
On March 25, the two male former Lancaster Country Day School students were sentenced − to 60 hours each of community service − on felony counts of sexual abuse of children (manufacturing child sexual abuse material) and criminal conspiracy to commit that offense.
Many of the victims read statements in court, with several referring to one of the boys as a former close friend. One victim called him her “best friend,” saying he betrayed her trust. The victims said the boy had taken photos from social media, photos taken at shared parties, and even screenshots from FaceTime calls, and passed them along to the other boy, who used artificial intelligence to morph them into pornography. One victim said she was just 12 years old in one of the photos the boys used to create a sexualized deepfake.
Deepfake abuse is a growing problem at schools across the country, but experts warn that school policies, legal recourse and education lag far behind. That’s especially problematic for the often underage victims of this abuse – 90% of which are women – as studies show these deepfake nude images can have wide-ranging and long-lasting consequences.
Victims, their families and advocates are working to prevent future cases at other schools through awareness, education and policy reform.
What happened at Lancaster Country Day School?
Between October 2024 to May 2024, the two boys created 347 sexual deepfake images and videos of 60 girls; 48 of them were other Lancaster Country Day School students, the other 12 were acquaintances of students in the photos, and all but one victim was under the age of 18.
The school received a tip in December 2024 about the deepfakes, but failed to act, according to lawyers representing at least 10 families in a pending lawsuit against the school.
The school received additional information in May 2024 and filed a ChildLine report with the state, but a criminal investigation began only after parents notified law enforcement, according to an investigation by the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office.
“We continue to prioritize the health and well-being of our students,” Emile Kosoff, the head of Lancaster Country Day School said in a statement to USA TODAY. “Our deliberate and intentional approach aims always to ensure that our school community remains informed, continues to heal, and moves forward together.”
‘I felt physically sick’: Victims share profound trauma, nightmares and PTSD
The proceedings took more than three hours. The two male offenders stood with their parents and attorneys and were given the opportunity to speak at the beginning and end, but both declined.
The perpetrators often looked down at the floor or straight ahead as approximately 30 victim impact statements were read – most from young female victims, but also from distraught parents and Janine Swinehart, the prosecuting attorney. Several victims cried and struggled to read their statements aloud as their hands shook with the papers they were reading from.
Many expressed the resounding trauma that’s haunted them for the past two years. They said they find it difficult to trust male companions, constantly wondering who may be deceiving or sexualizing them. One victim said the first perpetrator took a screenshot during their FaceTime video call and manipulated it to appear as though she were revealing her body to him on the call.
Another victim described the pain of seeing her smiling photos from a party turned into something pornographic: “Some of the same people I shared that joy with, are now the people who took that joy away.”
“When do we, women, get to exist without being turned into something we don’t want? When will we be seen for ourselves?” she continued.
Victims spoke of the onset of anxiety, panic attacks, depression and PTSD following the incident. Two said they have had nightmares of being sexually assaulted and fear being home alone. Some keep their blinds drawn and their doors locked, afraid to walk down the street. Others shared that their grades had slipped, and several have sought therapy to process the experience. Many expressed concern that these photos might resurface down the line, such as when applying to colleges or jobs or when meeting potential romantic partners. That fear of the unknown hangs over them.
This “has robbed me of my high school experience,” another victim said. School is a “living hell.” A mother shared that the experience is still impacting her daughter, who is now in college and worries about the images appearing on the internet.
“I never imagined school yearbook photos would be used for your own satisfaction,” another victim said to one of the perpetrators. “Your actions affect me every day.”
The perpetrators have to complete 60 hours of community service: ‘One for each victim’
The two offenders were sentenced to two years of probation and 60 hours of community service each − one hour for each victim, Judge Leonard Brown said − meaning they will not be put into a juvenile detention facility, while technically remaining under the supervision of the juvenile justice system. At the end of that two year period, they are eligible to have their records expunged. They also are required to pay restitution, which attorneys for both parties said would be finalized over the next 10 days. Contact with the victims, including via third parties, is forbidden.
Judge Brown said had they been adults, they would be facing a state prison sentence, but “the juvenile justice system gives second chances.”
Families and advocates hope for change: ‘This is not harmless, this is not a joke.’
Lancaster District Attorney Heather Adams determined that Lancaster Country Day School officials were not required to report the deepfake incident to the state-run tip line ChildLine or law enforcement. This is due to a limitation in the Pennsylvania Legislature that families and advocates are working to address.
As of Dec. 20, 2024, the Pennsylvania Legislature amended its laws to specifically include and define AI child pornography as child sexual abuse material. In several states, AI or computer-generated images are not included in existing child pornography statutes.
However, there is a “loophole” in the mandated reporter statute that says you don’t have to report “child-on-child abuse,” according to Matthew Faranda-Diedrich, a partner at the Royer Cooper Cohen Braunfeld law firm, who represented some of the families from Lancaster Country Day School.
State Sen. Tracy Pennycuick cosponsored the bill updating Pennsylvania’s AI child pornography laws, and is hoping to see their state’s bipartisan action extend nationally. In Pennsylvania, she is sponsoring another bill that would tighten up reporting requirements for mandatory reporters.
She wants to leave “no ambiguity” in what mandatory reporters are required to act on: “If you suspect that there is any kind of child sexual abuse material, you report.”