An indictment unveiled yesterday by a federal grand jury charges Seth Herrera, a U.S. Army soldier previously based in El Paso, TX, with serious child pornography offenses, including attempted sexual exploitation of a child and receipt of illicit materials. The Department of Justice reports that Herrera allegedly used encrypted apps and network applications to find and download child sexual abuse material (CSAM) over multiple years starting from 2021; additionally, he is accused of employing artificial intelligence chatbots to create CSAM utilizing images of known children.
The allegations suggest that Herrera has been surreptitiously capturing images and videos of children undressing in his home. This disturbing conduct extended beyond Texas, as Herrera also faces charges in Alaska for related offenses while stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, where he is accused of transporting, receiving, and possessing CSAM, including versions generated by artificial intelligence. According to Matthew R. Galeotti, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret F. Leachman for the Western District of Texas, who announced the charges, the investigations are being carried out by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
The prosecution of the case falls under the remit of Trial Attorney Rachel L. Rothberg from the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mallory J. Rasmussen for the Western District of Texas, as a critical part of Project Safe Childhood, explained by the Justice Department, which is a broader initiative launched in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse across the nation.
