A former Iowa State University student will spend 15 years in prison after admitting to creating AI-generated child pornography and inciting people to stalk and even rape more than a dozen women and girls.
Jack Erselius, 20, of Montezuma pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography and 11 counts of cyberstalking. But federal prosecutors wrote in filings before Erselius’ July 8 sentencing that those descriptions fall short of describing his criminal conduct.
Over a three-year period, Erseliusused artificial intelligence tools to remove clothing from photos of real female acquaintances in his hometown. He posted the deepfaked images of at least 10 of them online with their real names, addresses, contact information, social media profiles and other identifying information, alongside descriptions of “disturbing and explicit” acts of sexual violence he wanted to see committed against them.
The prosecutors wrote that Erselius made what they referred to as “calling cards” and that from 2023 to 2025 he repeatedly sent them “to people on the internet in attempts to have these girls and young women ‘raped,’ ‘stalked,’ and ‘ruined.’ … Defendant’s actions and requests were not part of a fantasy that would never come to reality; instead he insisted that he wanted these victims raped over and over, offered to pay people to commit these crimes, and insisted on his seriousness when questioned or even called out by others on the internet for his criminal behavior and desires, stating he did not think he would get caught.”
Erselius went so far as to post satellite images of the victims’ homes and real-time updates on their location to facilitate their abuse, and in multiple cases, the victims were contacted by or sent offensive material by strangers in person and online.
Federal sentencing guidelines recommended a prison term of 97 to 121 months, but prosecutors asked for a five-year upward variance to account for the severity of Erselius’ conduct.
“Defendant should not be credited with the lack of evidence of any of the victims being physically harmed since all of his actions showed he had clear intent to have these numerous victims, including minors, cyberflashed, stalked, and raped,” prosecutors wrote.
Judge Stephen Locher ordered Erselius to serve 15 years, just shy of the 181 months prosecutors sought, and to pay more than $12,000 in restitution and other costs.
Defense attorney Alfredo Parrish told the Des Moines Register his client had apologized to the victims and recognized he needed treatment and rehabilitation for what Parrish described as an addiction to pornography.
“Jack had all the opportunities any young person could have growing up, but the development of AI, the prevalance of porn on computers can be a draw to young people, especially males,” he said. “This case should be a cautionary tale to parents and community leaders, because this could happen to anyone.”
This article has been updated with comment from Erselius’ attorney and to correct his name.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: ISU student who posted girls’ images online for predators gets 15 years
Reporting by William Morris, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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By William Morris, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
