Man charged after GHOST’s first AI child porn investigation

Trevor Klinert

FLINT – Genesee County Sheriff Christopher Swanson said 25-year-old Trevor Klinert of Clio has been charged for allegedly creating AI child pornography.

Swanson added that this is the Genesee Human Oppression Strike Team (GHOST)’s first AI child pornography case.

Swanson held a news conference and shared details about the case during a Sept. 25 briefing, where he posed a question to those in attendance and followed along on social media.

“What would you do if you took a family photo and posted it online, like we all do, but that family photo was taken by a predator and sent to an AI generator and turned into child pornography?” Swanson asked. “Because that’s exactly what happened.”

According to Sergeant Jim Duhart, the case began with a consent to search a phone and child pornography was discovered. Then work began on building the housing.

Swanson explained that the incident was a case of sexual extortion or “sextortion,” in which criminals use technology, videos and cyberbullying to lure people.

Swanson said a photo in question was allegedly uploaded to 112 different AI generator websites to determine what he thought was the best way to portray his victim.

The forensic download occurred after consent was obtained, meaning an investigator can “open up” or see everything on a phone.

Duhart added that investigators allegedly saw at least 34 inappropriate images on Klinert’s phone.

“We always talk about how if you put something on your phone or look for it, it never goes away,” Dallas said. “You can delete it, but until [the sheriff’s office] If we open a phone and use special tools, we can go back and extract everything a person has viewed and downloaded, as well as every photo they have taken and shared.”

Dallas added that while technology may change, the sheriff’s office’s commitment to protecting children and vulnerable people will not change.

Klinert is charged with multiple crimes in connection with the case, including using a computer to commit a crime and aggravated sexual abuse of children. His bond has been set at $300,000 and a probable cause hearing is scheduled for October 3 with Judge Marable.