AI footage showing nude female students roaming a private school in Pennsylvania

Pictures showing the faces of the girls with naked bodies led to the walkout of the leaders of a private school in Pennsylvania, which sparked a student protest and a criminal investigation.

The young suspect was “taken out” of Lancaster Country Day School and his cell phone was seized by investigators in August, Detective Laurel Bair of the Susquehanna County Police Department said Tuesday.

The latest example of how the use of artificial intelligence to create or manipulate images with sexual content has become a concern, including in school settings.

US regulators have been cracking down on graphic depictions of computer-generated children and altered real-life images. The Justice Department says it is going after those who use AI tools and states are scrambling to enact laws to deal with the problem.

A new Pennsylvania state law that will go into effect late next month makes or distributes child sexual abuse material generated by AI.

And police in South Korea are on a seven-month campaign to crack down on apparently secret content, with tougher penalties, increased use of secret police and more social media regulation. South Korea's concerns have intensified after an unconfirmed list of target schools circulated earlier this year.

As part of a police investigation into what Lancaster Country Day School described as “disturbing AI-generated images,” a search warrant was used this summer to find an iPhone 11 linked to a 15-year-old, according to court records. do not identify the young person.

A woman told police that her daughter said a classmate was “taking pictures of students using Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to portray young female students as naked,” according to an affidavit that may have been used to file a search warrant application. .

Matt Micciche, the school's former principal, told police the school received a complaint about the photos in November 2023 through the Safe2Say Something program but the suspect, identified only by his first name, denied the allegations, according to Bair's affidavit.

When other parents became aware of the images in May, Bair wrote, they also discovered that “AI nudity images” had been posted on the chat platform.

Bair, who is leading the investigation because the suspect lives on the grounds of the Susquehanna County Police Department, said there was shock at the school “that this is happening and that it happened in their small community.” He declined to say how many girls were featured in the photos but added that more details about the case will likely be revealed in the next two weeks.

Erik Yabor, a spokesman for Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams, said Tuesday that Lancaster County prosecutors could not comment on the ongoing investigation.

Attorney General's Office spokeswoman Michelle Henry said the agency could not comment on specific tips or reports made on the Safe2Say Something platform, which features anonymous reports from students and others about security threats.

“Typically, our team takes tips and sends them to law enforcement or school personnel for review,” said Brett Hambright. “We have confirmed that it has happened regarding the issue you asked about.”

LNP in Lancaster reported that most of the students attending Lancaster Country Day High School had a field trip on Friday, Nov. 8, marching around the center and chanting, “Hear. We agreed. We'll see each other.” School is canceled on Monday.

The LNP said the school announced on Friday that it had “parted ways” with Micciche and that board president Angela Ang-Alhadeff had stepped down. The Associated Press left phone messages seeking comment from both on Tuesday. In a letter to the school community on Monday, the Lancaster Country Day Board of Trustees said it was working to fill their vacancies and “a decision on the case is pending.”

“What we can say is that last week the board was informed of the information that led us to take the decision to resolve this issue,” the board wrote, including doing what “will benefit the girls and impact and in the long-term interest of the school.” “

The school said students have been counseled and the center is reviewing reporting procedures, security measures and other policies regarding student safety.