Hilliard man sentenced to 14 years in prison for using AI to morph images of real minors into child pornography

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A Hilliard man was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 168 months in prison for two child pornography crimes.

Austin Pittman, 35, admitted to distributing images of real child pornography and using AI to morph videos and photos of real children to whom he had access into images of child pornography.

According to court documents, in January 2025, the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force received multiple cyber tipline reports regarding Pittman's activity on Kik messenger. On the instant messaging app, Pittman distributed child pornography depicting an adult sexually abusing a child.

Further investigation revealed that, in 2024, Pittman was the target of an investigation at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, where he uploaded 47 files of child pornography to Kik.

A search warrant executed at Pittman's residence in April 2025 led to the seizure of numerous devices. During a review of Pittman's cell phone, law enforcement officials discovered images and videos of real children to whom Pittman had access. Some of the files Pittman had secretly recorded and created some of the images and videos himself. Pittman then used AI programs to alter these images so that the minor females depicted in them now appeared fully nude. He also distributed this content he morphed to others in online chat platforms dedicated to child sexual abuse material.

Pittman was charged federally and arrested in April 2025 and pleaded guilty in December 2025.

Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin; and other members of the Franklin County ICAC Task Force announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Douglas R. Cole. Assistant United States Attorney Emily Czerniejewski is representing the United States in this case.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney's Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

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