Tatum David (David Tatum)

Tatum David (David Tatum)

Biography

2023: Sentence - 40 years in prison for making pornographic deepfakes

On November 8, 2023, the US Department of Justice announced that Charlotte (North Carolina) child psychiatrist David Tatum was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the production, possession and transfer of materials related to child sexual abuse. The criminal, in particular, is charged with creating pornographic deepfakes - images generated using artificial intelligence.

According to the case file, Tatum was engaged in illegal activities from 2016 to 2021. In one of the episodes, as established by the investigation, approximately in July 2016, Tatum secretly filmed a minor while he undressed and showered. The man made similar secret recordings of others, including one of his patients during an outpatient visit, who turned 18 five days before visiting a psychiatrist. Tatum kept these records along with other pornographic materials.

It was also established that 41-year-old Tatum used special AI tools to convert images of dressed minors into child pornography. As the basis of such deepfakes, the attacker took school photographs of adolescents and children.

As a child psychiatrist, Tatum knew how much negative impact sexual exploitation had on children's well-being. Despite this, he practiced depraved practices. In addition, Tatum abused artificial intelligence in the worst possible way, the Ministry of Justice said in a statement.

A federal jury in Charlotte found Tatum guilty of charges of creating and possessing child pornography. After serving his appointed term, Tatum will have to register on a special sex offender register.^[1]

Notes