Cops Used AI Generated Photos of a Child to Lure Out a Suspected Predator
404 Media Samantha Cole
Police arrested Chicago-area maintenance worker Christopher Thomas Mertens after investigators posed as a 15-year-old using AI-generated images and lured him into arranging an in-person meeting. The FBI Task Force Officer used Clearview AI and other tools to identify him, including running his face through Clearview AI. As a result, Mertens was taken into custody and later admitted the scheme to investigators.
Why it matters
Christopher Thomas Mertens, a high school maintenance worker, was arrested after attempting to meet up with an AI persona that he thought was a 15 year old boy.