19-year-old charged in child exploitation case allegedly created AI images of classmates
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SHELLEY – A 19-year-old man was recently released from jail after reportedly being found with child sexually exploitative material, and being accused of generating artificial intelligence images to make his teenage classmates look as if they were naked, and in sexual scenarios.
Kasen Jacob Reno is charged with 18 felony counts of possessing or accessing child sexually exploitative material, and seven felony counts of knowingly distributing child sexually exploitative material.
He was released on Thursday on his “own recognizance” without having to pay bail.
EastIdahoNews.com reached out to Reno’s defense attorney, James Pendlebury, for comment and clarification as to why Reno was released without bail, but we have not received a response. We will update if we receive a response.
On May 19, court documents say an Idaho Falls Police detective was contacted by the Idaho Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force about a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. A man later identified as Reno had allegedly uploaded 16 images of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to his Google email account in April and May.
The images reportedly included images of children between the ages of 4 and 15 involved in sexual activity.
Through Reno’s IP address, investigators were able to determine that he was uploading the images from a home in Shelley and from a Wendy’s restaurant in either Ammon or Rigby. Court documents state that Reno worked at a nearby Wendy’s restaurant.
A search warrant for Reno’s email account showed that there were internet searches for “undressAI” and “pornAI”.
In the Google photos for the account, investigators say they found two images of naked young girls between the ages of 6 and 11 in “partial states of undress.” Additionally, there were reportedly 20 more photos of girls between 14 and 18 years old who were “nude or partially nude and exposing their genitals”
An email from Google on May 1, reportedly said that Reno’s account was being shut down due to “content that involves a child being sexually abused or exploited.”
On September 9, detectives served a search warrant at Reno’s home and detained him at Shelley High School, where they took him to the Shelley Police Department for an interview. During the interview, Reno initially said that he wanted to speak with investigators without his parents or a lawyer present. When asked if he knew what the interview was about, Reno said, “a phone”.
Reno’s parents then called and asked that he not be interviewed without an attorney present, and he was released.
During a search of Reno’s home, investigators say they found a blue Android smartphone with 115 images and one video of CSAM on it.
The images depict toddlers and children between the ages of 2 and 14 being sexually assaulted and raped.
According to the detective’s report, investigators also found many videos and photos of real female students, both underage and over 18 years old, at Shelley High School.
The images appear to have been manipulated using AI to remove the girls’ clothing or create a fake, sexual scenario.
Court documents say that some of the photos and videos were originally taken by Reno, and others were taken from the Shelley High School Facebook page, before being manipulated by AI to look as if the students were naked or in a sexual situation.
The girls in the images were contacted by police and confirmed that they were in the original photos.
One of the victims told detectives she does not know Reno. Another said that she knew him, and a third said that they were friends, but had never been in a romantic or sexual relationship. They all said that they had never sent him nude photos.
Detectives found another app on Reno’s phone called “Zangi”, which is an anonymous messaging app. According to court documents, Reno had been sending CSAM to other users and asking them to send him illegal content in exchange.
In one message with a user, another person told Reno they “wanna f*** that baby” and Reno reportedly responded, “same” and “it would feel so good.” In a different conversation, a user reportedly asked Reno “how young would you f***?” Reno allegedly responded, “Anything.”
A summons was issued on June 18 for Reno to appear in court. He appeared over Zoom for an initial appearance on Thursday. If convicted, Reno could face up to life in prison.
Though Reno has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.