A man arrested by Chandler Police officers, William Powderly, has been indicted for possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
It is the first case involving AI-generated CSAM to be charged by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.
Chandler Police began investigating Powderly after receiving a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. He was found to have numerous images of CSAM, including two where AI was used to swap a real child victim’s face onto sexually explicit images of another young female.
A grand jury indicted Powderly on 10 counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, a Class Two Felony and Dangerous Crime Against Children.
Last year, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office supported HB2678 — sponsored by Rep. Julie Willoughby—which made the punishment the same for sex abuse images of real child victims and AI-generated or digitally altered images that are indistinguishable from real minors. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Katie Hobbs and took effect on September 26, 2025.
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