Homer Police Department’s Lt. Ryan Browning will this month facilitate a meeting for parents to address issues of inappropriate use of digital technology by minors.
Titled “Parenting in the Digital Age,” the meeting will take place in the Homer Middle School gym Monday, Oct. 28 at 6 p.m. This is intended for adults only.
The meeting follows several incidents investigated by the department involving minors using technology inappropriately.
In one case, minors allegedly used artificial intelligence technology to create nude images of classmates. The case has since been referred to the juvenile justice system, Browning said.
Browning emphasized that in situations like this it is important for law enforcement to intervene so minors facing the allegation “can understand the gravity of what they’re doing and provide some resources to cease this behavior. Because, if the photos are real enough, even if created with AI, it does fall under unlawful exploitation of a minor,” he said. “Law doesn’t differentiate on how old the creator is.”
This can relate to a Class A felony depending on the age of the person in the photo, “and if that victim is under the age of 13, it significantly amps things up,” he said.
Browning said that in such cases, the department would work with the Division of Juvenile Justice to remove the existing photos in order to cease circulation of them.
For the offenders in such cases, the primary goal would be “getting them some some resources, some intervention and maybe putting them on juvenile probation as well as getting mom and dad involved,” he said. He noted that parents often are not aware of what their juvenile children are doing with AI technology.
Browning stressed that issues such as these should be brought directly to a law enforcement agency, not the local school district. If that’s where a student can find a trusted adult, however, they should not be concerned about sharing information there, he said.
Browning noted that depending on what is depicted in the images, such as a realistic head on a cartoon body, the allegation might fall more under a harassment statute rather than felony. Regardless, “we want to make sure we can have communication with the offenders because these cases can have massive consequences as well as a devastating effect on the victims,” he said.
In another recent incident, it was reported that an unfounded text message was passed around among students accusing a fellow student of bringing a gun to school. Homer Police Department received notification and also responded to that case. They found the rumors unsubstantiated though it was addressed in complete seriousness.
“There was never any credible threat. But this is something we take very seriously and we did act on it and investigate anyway,” Browning said.
