Kenosha County man faces 12 felony counts under Wisconsin AI law
Kenosha County man faces 12 felony counts under Wisconsin AI law
A new Wisconsin law is being used in Kenosha County involving AI-generated intimate images.
KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis. - A first of its kind law is coming into effect in Kenosha County.
The case involves a man allegedly manipulating photos of his ex-girlfriend with AI to make her nude, then posting them online.
Criminal prosecution following Act 34
What To Know:
This is one of the first times this charge is being prosecuted in Wisconsin. It comes from Act 34, which passed in Wisconsin last October.
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The defendant, 23-year-old Tristan Preuss, is being charged with 12 counts of posting a synthetic intimate representation of an identifiable person.
Tristan Preuss
According to a criminal complaint, Preuss created four fake social media accounts pretending to be his ex-girlfriend. That began in August 2025. On those accounts, he allegedly posted AI manipulated images of his ex, making her naked.
A key case
What they're saying:
Attorney Jonathan LaVoy with Kim and LaVoy S.C. said the key in this case is that these photos were distributed publicly.
"There's a lot of good things happening with AI, but there's also a lot of bad things. And the law is trying to catch up with the technology that we're seeing," said LaVoy.
The criminal complaint said in those posts, Preuss asked, in exchange for the photos, that money be sent to a phone number which belonged to him.
When police talked to Preuss, he said there was "no ill intent and no reason behind it," that "it was for his own satisfaction" and that "he was sorry."
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"I think on its face, the evidence appears to be fairly strong against this defendant. But I think that there are some challenges to whether this statute is legal and whether it's going to be upheld by our Court of Appeals or Supreme Court," said LaVoy.
These types of charges are so new, Preuss told police that he did not know it was illegal.
What's next:
He is expected in court on Dec. 2 for an initial appearance.
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Ben Hanson and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from a Kenosha County criminal complaint, the WI CCAP system and attorney Jonathan LaVoy with Kim and LaVoy.