District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan announced a Bethlehem man is charged with possession of AI-generated child sexual abuse material.

Adam Erdman, 34, of Bethlehem, was charged April 17, 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, Bethlehem Police were called by the defendant’s estranged wife, who 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 Dec. 30, 2024.

The case was investigated by Bethlehem Police Detective Stephen Ewald and will be prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney Sarah K. Heimbach.