Brandon Tyler, 26, manipulated images from social media pages and posted them in an online forum.
Author: Kellie MaddoxPublished 3 hours ago
Last updated 58 minutes ago
An man from Braintree who used artificial intelligence to create deep fake images of women he knew has been jailed for five years.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard how Brandon Tyler, 26, manipulated images from social media pages and posted them in an online forum.
He admitted 18 counts of causing harassment without violence and 15 counts of sharing an intimate photo or film of a person for sexual gratification.
Three of Tyler’s victims have spoken out about the impact of his crimes.
One said: “I knew they were fake, but all I could think was that everyone else would think it was me.
“It had an immediate detrimental effect on my physical and mental health. I shut myself away from everyone and everything.
“I didn’t want to go out and I wasn’t sleeping or eating. It was really traumatic at the time and has had a lasting impact.”
A second victim said: “This whole time has been so stressful and upsetting.
“I was a new mum when I found out that these images had been posted without my permission.
“I knew all sorts of people, including my boss and other people at work, had seen these images of me and it was a terrible feeling.
“I was suffering from post-natal depression, and this made the depression so much worse, especially when I was getting ready to go back to work.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Ben Stammers welcomed the sentence and said:
“Tyler has subjected these women to a vile and abhorrent targeted campaign of abuse, purely for his own sexual gratification.
“The impact has been felt by all 20 of his victims and many are still fearful of the implications for themselves in their professional and personal lives.
“This behaviour was obviously meant to cause these women immense turmoil and distress. Not only were many of their images taken and then manipulated, but Tyler compounded this by adding sexually violent language to his posts.
“Essex Police are committed to fully investigating this type of criminal behaviour against women and girls. We will use the full force of the legislation available to us to ensure women are safe.
“Our Reflect campaign highlights the dangers of this type of offending and we will continue to prosecute those offenders and also work with partners to educate and prevent.”
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