A school janitor in Texas is accused of taking photos of pre-pubescent students and using technology to superimpose the faces of the children onto people in nude photos, the Department of Justice says.
Daril Martin Gonzales, 55, was charged last Wednesday with one count of possession and attempted possession of child pornography and one count of possession and attempted possession of obscene visual representation of a child, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.
Prosecutors said Gonzales, a janitor for the Anson ISD in Anson, Texas, also served as a school sports and cheerleader photographer, taking free pictures of middle and high school students.
Without the children's knowledge, the DOJ said Gonzales would use artificial intelligence to replace the faces of adult subjects in sexually explicit videos or AI-generated nude subjects with the faces of female students.
Knowing he took those [photographs] and what he does with them, it really makes me sick to my stomach. I feel gross. I know it’s not me, but it makes me feel gross and violated and disrespected.
Victim told the DOJ after learning of the images
A police report admitted into evidence at the detention hearing said Gonzales allegedly described his crimes as a “power trip” and admitted to viewing child pornography for up to six hours per day for the past 20 to 25 years.
“I felt disgusted, embarrassed, and scared. I was worried that photos of me could be posted or sold somewhere,” said another victim. “I was embarrassed 'cause I didn’t want people to think of me in this way when I hadn’t done anything.”
U.S. & World
The DOJ did not provide any details about how they learned of the altered photos and did not say whether the material had been posted or shared online.
“I know I can’t do anything about what he did,” said a third. “I don’t think I did anything wrong. He’s in the wrong.”
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
If convicted, Gonzales could face up to 20 years in federal prison followed by a possible lifetime of supervised release. It's unclear whether the defendant has legal representation at this time. Assistant U.S. Attorney Whitney Ohlhausen is prosecuting the case.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigation's Dallas Field Division, the Abilene Resident Agency, the Abilene Police Department, the Texas Rangers, and the Anson Police Department.
Anson is located in Jones County, about 20 miles north of Abilene and about 150 miles west of Fort Worth.
