CHANDLER (AZ)
Arizona Mirror [Phoenix AZ]
May 12, 2026
By Jerod MacDonald-Evoy
A Chandler man will be the first person in Arizona prosecuted under a new law that makes it a felony to create AI-generated child pornography.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office on Tuesday announced that it had indicted William Powderly, 44, for possessing child sexual abuse material, including two images in which AI was used to swap the faces of a real child onto the face of another “young female” in “sexually explicit images,” according to MCAO.
The indictment is a first of its kind after a new law went into effect in September of last year. House Bill 2678 by Rep. Julie Willoughby, R-Chandler, changed the law to make the punishment for AI generated images the same as for real depictions of child sexual abuse material, also known as CSAM. MCAO supported the legislation.
The Chandler Police Department began investigating the case on a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to MCAO.
Powderly was indicted on 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a class two felony. The changes in the law also make it so any depiction of a child under 15 classifies it as a “dangerous crime against children,” meaning if Powderly is found guilty, he will be on probation for life. He is being held on a $150,000 bond.
Other states, such as Alaska, are pursuing similar legislation as reports of AI generated CSAM has continued to skyrocket. Earlier this year, federal officials brought their first case related to AI CSAM against a man in Texas.
However, similar laws in other states are creating new legal challenges with some arguing over the constitutionality.
“This case proves exactly why HB2678 was needed,” Willoughby told the Mirror. “A predator should not get a free pass because the image was created with software instead of a camera. Child exploitation is child exploitation, and Arizona prosecutors now have the authority to go after these criminals accordingly.”
***UPDATED: This story has been updated with a comment from Rep. Julie Willoughby.