17 year old JC juvenile facing charges after using AI to create child pornography of classmates

A 17-year-old in Johnson City juvenile is set to be tried as an adult after he allegedly used Artificial Intelligence to create child pornography of his classmates. Christian Jayden Zarate faces 28 counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, among other charges. A report was filed with the Johnson City Police Department in December 2025, when officers allegedly found more than 50 images that would be considered child pornography, specifically, 28 AI-generated sexually explicit photos of female classmates. Photos were taken from social media pages and uploaded into an AI image generator and police say Zarate then posted some of those to an online chatroom. All victims were 17 or younger at the time. Investigators also reportedly found 24 sexually explicit videos and photos of children taken from the internet. Court records show he is out on bond with certain rules, including no access to electronic devices or anything with WiFi, no contact with the victims or anyone under 17, excluding his direct family. He is also expected to stay at home unless in the company of a parent. Zarate is due back in criminal court for a status hearing on Aug. 7.