Oct 18, 2026 · 37 min
Prosecutors struggle to charge a deepfake abuse case
BONUS SERIES: Levittown Episode 4 | 'How Is That Not Illegal'
The case exposes how manipulated sexual images can cause severe harm while existing criminal laws struggle to address material that is not real.
- 1Carey’s confession and roughly 1,300 posts reveal an organized campaign of humiliation, impersonation, and harassment.
- 2Prosecutors face a 90-day deadline while misdemeanor charges appear inadequate for the scale of the abuse.
- 3A genuine nude photograph gives investigators a possible felony charge, but jurisdiction limits what they can remove.
Don't miss
Prosecutors discover that a genuine nude photograph, rather than the many manipulated images, may provide the felony charge they need.
The brief
Patrick Carey is arrested after a victim reports a familiar pattern of manipulated images and harassment; he immediately confesses, forcing investigators to confront the scale of the abuse.
Prosecutors Melissa Scannell and Kelsey Laura find that threats, obscenity, and harassment charges may amount only to misdemeanors, despite hundreds of posts and victims.
The investigation reconstructs Carey’s online operation: scraping social-media images, impersonating victims, tracking engagement, and encouraging others to harass them across roughly 1,300 posts.
The case sits within the rise of deepfake pornography, where manipulated images can be protected as expression because they are not real, even when the harm is real.
The turning point comes when prosecutors find a genuine nude photograph Carey shared through a messaging app, creating a possible felony charge while jurisdiction blocks easy removal.
The episode ends by asking whether an anonymous cybersecurity expert can succeed where local law enforcement cannot, setting up the next investigation into hackers and enforcement limits.
What was said on this episode
4 statements · 1 positive · 2 negative · 1 mixed
Patrick could argue the posts were First Amendment-protected artistic expression.
“Patrick could argue that these posts were artistic expression, which is protected under the First Amendment.”
Listen at 13:22
Deepfake technology could iteratively produce convincing image matches by 2021.
“By 2021, the technology could repeatedly assess and adjust an image until it got a convincing perfect match.”
Listen at 29:20
The AI model behind the Tom Cruise deepfake powered the largest non-consensual pornography website then.
“The AI model that was used to create the uncanny Tom Cruise was also used to fuel the largest non-consensual pornography website at the time.”
Listen at 29:42
The genuine nude image qualified as child sexual abuse material because the victim was 14.
“because the girl in the picture was just 14 when it was taken, it also qualified as child sexual abuse material.”
Listen at 31:25
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.
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