Roberts AI Deepfake Stalking - New Hampshire
Stalked victim for over a year using AI tools to create deepfake videos depicting victim in sexual acts that never occurred. Charged and held without bail in Conway, New Hampshire, late 2024/early 2025.
AI System
AI deepfake tools
Various
Occurred
January 1, 2024
Reported
January 15, 2025
Jurisdiction
US-NH
Platform
other
What Happened
Joseph Roberts was charged in Conway, New Hampshire for a stalking campaign lasting over one year in which he used AI deepfake technology to create fabricated videos depicting his victim in sexual situations that never actually occurred.
The deepfake videos were sufficiently realistic to appear credible, causing significant psychological harm and reputational damage to the victim. Roberts distributed or threatened to distribute the fabricated sexual content as part of his stalking behavior.
The case represents emerging patterns of AI-facilitated harassment where deepfake technology enables creation of non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII) without any actual intimate contact or photography of the victim. This substantially lowers the barrier for creating harmful sexual content, as perpetrators no longer need access to actual intimate images — they can fabricate them entirely using AI.
The victim faced the psychological trauma of discovering fabricated sexual videos of herself circulating, combined with the ongoing stalking behavior. Roberts was deemed a sufficient flight/danger risk to be held without bail. The case is ongoing as of early 2025 and represents one of the first criminal prosecutions specifically for AI deepfake stalking.
AI Behaviors Exhibited
AI deepfake tools used to generate fabricated sexual videos; created non-consensual intimate imagery without actual intimate photos; enabled realistic sexual content creation for harassment purposes
How Harm Occurred
AI lowered barrier to creating NCII - no actual intimate access needed; fabricated content appears credible; victim faces psychological trauma and reputational harm; stalking sustained over one year using AI-generated content
Outcome
OngoingCharged with stalking and non-consensual intimate imagery. Held without bail. Case ongoing as of early 2025.
Harm Categories
Contributing Factors
Victim
One woman, Conway, New Hampshire area
Cite This Incident
Compiled per our published methodology — verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2025). Roberts AI Deepfake Stalking - New Hampshire. NOPE Incident Tracker. https://nope.net/incidents/2024-roberts-ai-deepfake-stalking
BibTeX
@misc{2024_roberts_ai_deepfake_stalking,
title = {Roberts AI Deepfake Stalking - New Hampshire},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2025},
howpublished = {NOPE Incident Tracker},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2024-roberts-ai-deepfake-stalking}
} Related Incidents
Asato v. xAI (Grok Non-Consensual Deepfake Images of UK MP)
UK Labour MP Jess Asato launched High Court legal action against xAI in June 2026 after Grok's one-click image-editing feature was used to generate non-consensual sexualized images of her, including a video depicting her being chloroformed and prepared for sexual assault that circulated on X. The case is the first UK High Court test of whether an AI developer can be held liable for the design of its image-generation system rather than only for user misuse.
Ahmedabad Woman AI-Morphed Image Harassment Campaign (India)
A Delhi man who befriended an Ahmedabad woman online under the pretext of spiritual discussions used AI tools to create more than 100 obscene morphed images and videos of her and her mother after she rejected his advances. He spread them across 8-10 fake social-media accounts for months while posing as a 'helpful friend' to the victim. Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch arrested him in May 2026.
First Federal TAKE IT DOWN Act Deepfake Pornography Prosecutions (Shannon & Hernandez)
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn arrested Cornelius Shannon, 51, and Arturo Hernandez, 20, in May 2026 for using AI tools to generate and distribute non-consensual deepfake pornography depicting approximately 140 identifiable female victims — including celebrities, political figures, and non-public individuals described as recent high school graduates. The case is among the first major federal prosecutions under the TAKE IT DOWN Act.
Libertyville Middle School Teacher AI-Generated CSAM Arrest (Sheffer - Highland Middle School)
A 44-year-old social studies teacher at Highland Middle School in Libertyville, Illinois was arrested on July 3, 2026 and charged with 8 counts of child pornography after forensic examination found he had videotaped current and former students and used generative AI to alter the images into explicit sexual content. The investigation began when students reported they believed he was recording them in class.
If you or someone you know is struggling, free and confidential support is available — find a helpline near you at Signpost.