A Columbus man who harassed a Hilliard woman with AI-generated explicit images was sentenced Sept. 8 to 15 years in federal prison.

James Strahler II, 37, is believed to be the first person in the United States convicted under the Take It Down Act, U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace said, according to WLWT. The federal law, signed in May 2025, prohibits the nonconsensual publication of intimate images, including AI-generated depictions of real people.

The case began in Hilliard.

A woman contacted the Hilliard Police Department in 2025 to report threatening and harassing messages that she and her mother had received. The messages included nude photos of the victim, some of them AI-generated.

Strahler was charged locally and released several days later. Three months after that, the same victim contacted Hilliard police again after receiving similar messages from an unknown number. Investigators obtained a search warrant for Strahler's phone, which revealed calls, messages and images used to harass the victim and others, 10TV reported. The FBI took over the case, and Strahler was arrested on federal charges in June 2025.

Prosecutors said Strahler harassed at least six women between December 2024 and June 2025. He used more than 24 AI platforms and more than 100 web-based AI models to create explicit images, according to ABC6. In at least one instance, he sent AI-generated pornographic videos depicting a victim to her co-workers.

Officials said Strahler also threatened victims with rape and referenced their exact home addresses. He targeted victims' mothers, demanding nude photos and threatening to circulate explicit images if they did not comply.

Strahler pleaded guilty in April to cyberstalking, producing obscene visual representations of child sexual abuse and publication of digital forgeries. Investigators found more than 2,400 explicit images and videos on his phone, including child sexual abuse material. He had also created more than 700 AI-generated images of real children and animated figures and posted them to a website dedicated to child sexual abuse.

Chief U.S. District Court Judge Sarah D. Morrison handed down the 180-month sentence.

"This case demonstrates the importance of taking these types of crimes seriously and working together to protect victims and hold offenders accountable," Hilliard Police Chief Mike Woods said in a statement reported by ABC6. Woods said the department was proud of the early investigative work its officers and detectives did to bring the case forward.

Gerace said the 15-year sentence should warn others that creating and distributing nonconsensual AI-generated images will bring significant prison time. The case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative targeting online child sexual exploitation.

Residents who suspect similar crimes can submit tips to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov or contact the Hilliard Division of Police.