The First Conviction Under the Take It Down Act Is a Mess: AI Nudes, Incest Images, and a Guy Who Just Wouldn’t Stop

The Take It Down Act finally has its first scalp. And it’s a grim one.

James Strahler II, a 37-year-old from Ohio, just pleaded guilty to creating and distributing both real and AI-generated explicit images of at least 10 victims. The Department of Justice announced the conviction this week, and the details are as ugly as you’d expect.

Strahler didn’t just swap faces onto porn stars. He went out of his way to maximize cruelty. For one victim, he used AI to generate an image of her having sex with her own father, then sent that image to her mother and her co-workers. That’s not just harassment — that’s a targeted attempt to destroy someone’s life.

He also used AI to create explicit images of minor boys, placing their faces on adult bodies. Some of those boys were related to his victims. The DOJ press release notes that Strahler “installed more than 24 AI platforms and more than 100 AI web-based models on his phone.” Hundreds, if not thousands, of non-consensual intimate images (NCII) were found.

Here’s the part that really gets me: he kept doing it after his arrest. Cops found that Strahler continued creating and sharing AI nudes even while he was under investigation. The guy had a warrant out and was still firing up those apps. That’s either breathtaking stupidity or a compulsion so strong he couldn’t stop. Either way, it tells you how deeply this behavior is wired.

The Take It Down Act was signed into law in 2024, targeting the creation and distribution of non-consensual intimate imagery, including AI-generated fakes. This is the first conviction under the law, and it sets a precedent. But it also raises questions. The law carries penalties of up to 10 years in prison, but we don’t yet know Strahler’s sentence. I’ll be watching to see if the judge throws the book at him or goes lighter.

What bothers me is how easy this was. Strahler used off-the-shelf AI tools and web models. No custom code, no dark web forums, just apps anyone can download. The barrier to creating this kind of abuse is now effectively zero. And the Take It Down Act, while a step forward, is a reactive tool. It punishes after the damage is done. We’re still miles away from preventing this stuff from being made in the first place.

I’ve been covering AI abuse for years, and every case like this makes me more cynical. The tech is improving faster than the laws can keep up. The Take It Down Act is better than nothing, but it’s a band-aid on a bullet wound. Until platforms are forced to block this content at the generation stage, we’ll keep seeing stories like this.

Strahler is the first. He won’t be the last.