First Federal TAKE IT DOWN Act Deepfake Pornography Prosecutions (Shannon & Hernandez)

In May 2026, federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York brought what they described as among the first major federal prosecutions under the TAKE IT DOWN Act, the statute (signed into law May 19, 2025) that criminalized the non-consensual publication of intimate imagery, including AI-generated 'digital forgeries.'

Cornelius Shannon, 51, of Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, and Arturo Hernandez, 20, of Bedias, Texas, were arrested on May 19, 2026 and charged the following day. The two were not alleged to be working together; each operated his own large-scale deepfake pornography operation.

According to prosecutors:

1. Shannon published at least 360 albums of AI deepfake pornography depicting approximately 90 different female victims beginning around May 2025
2. Hernandez published approximately 113 albums depicting roughly 50 identifiable female victims, including non-public individuals described as recent high school graduates
3. Combined, the content depicted about 140 identifiable victims — including actresses, singers, and political figures — and drew nearly 3 million views

Each defendant faces up to two years in federal prison for offenses involving adult victims.

• AI image-generation tools used to create sexually explicit 'digital forgeries' depicting real, identifiable people without consent
• Tools enabled mass production of synthetic non-consensual intimate imagery (hundreds of albums per defendant)
• Generated content realistic enough to be passed off as genuine nude/sexual depictions of named individuals

AI image-generation tools lowered the barrier to producing realistic non-consensual intimate imagery at scale. Two individuals were each able to generate and distribute hundreds of albums depicting dozens of identifiable women, inflicting reputational and psychological harm on roughly 140 victims and exposing them to millions of viewers.

This is third-party harm facilitation: the AI users were the perpetrators, and the harm fell on the depicted victims. The non-consensual sexualization of identifiable individuals — including young women described as recent high school graduates — carries documented psychological and dignitary harm, which the TAKE IT DOWN Act was enacted to address.

• May 19, 2026: Cornelius Shannon, 51 (Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey) and Arturo Hernandez, 20 (Bedias, Texas) arrested
• May 20, 2026: Charges unsealed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn) before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peggy Cross-Goldenberg
• Prosecutors allege Shannon published at least 360 albums depicting ~90 different female victims since May 19, 2025; Hernandez published ~113 albums depicting ~50 identifiable female victims, including individuals who are not public figures
• Content drew millions of views online (reported at nearly 3 million combined)
• Charged under the TAKE IT DOWN Act (signed into federal law May 19, 2025); each faces up to two years in prison for offenses involving adult victims
• Among the earliest major federal criminal prosecutions under the statute