— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
A 34-year-old Bethlehem man has charged with having “AI-generated child sexual abuse material.”
Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan said Adam Erdman has been charged with multiple counts and is free after posting $100,000 bail.
Erdman’s estranged wife tipped the Bethlehem Police Department to materials on the man’s computer, Holihan said in a press release.
Holihan notes: “As in every criminal case, the fact that an arrest has occurred or a complaint has been filed is merely an accusation; and the accused, Adam Erdman, is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.”
A Pennsylvania law that went into effect Dec. 30, 2024, prohibits using Artificial Intelligence, photo-editing software and other technology to produce images that appear to “
authentically depict a child engaging in any prohibited sexual act,” according to the District Attorney’s statement.
Here is the statement from Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan:
April 23, 2025
District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan announced a Bethlehem man is charged with possession of AI
generated child sexual abuse material.
Adam Erdman, DOB 5/3/1990, of Bethlehem, was charged April 17, 2025 with three counts each of Child Sexual Abuse Material and one count of Criminal Use of a Communication Facility; all felonies of the third degree. Erdman is free after posting $100,000 bail.
Erdman is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at 10 a.m. May 28, 2025.
This is one of the first defendants in the Commonwealth charged under a statute banning artificially generated sexual depictions of a child (also known as AI child porn).
On March 31, 2025, Bethlehem Police were called by the defendant’s estranged wife whose name will not be released.
She told police that she went onto Erdman’s computer to access his email and found an email with the subject line “still images.”
She saw three images of AI-generated nude images of juvenile females.
The investigation revealed that Erdman obtained innocent vacation photographs of two children under the age of 18. He then used artificial intelligence photo editing software to alter the images to make the children appear naked. He then emailed those altered images.
The new Pennsylvania law prohibits the use of technical means (including AI and photo editing software) to produce any image that appears to authentically depict a child engaging in any prohibited sexual act.
Any image of a child depicted nude for the purpose of sexual stimulation or gratification of any person violates this statute. This statute became effective on December 30, 2024.
The case was investigated by Bethlehem Police Detective Stephen Ewald and will be prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney Sarah K. Heimbach.
As in every criminal case, the fact that an arrest has occurred or a complaint has been filed
is merely an accusation; and the accused, Adam Erdman, is presumed innocent until and
unless proven guilty.
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 