Quebec Man Sentenced for Having Used Deepfake Technology to Create Synthetic Child Pornography

Steven Larouche, 61, of Sherbrooke, Quebec, pleaded guilty to creating at least seven videos using deepfake technology that superimposes one person's face onto another's body to produce synthetic child pornography. He also possessed more than 545,000 computer files containing images or videos of child sexual abuse, some of which he made available to others. Among the materials found on his computer were images of one girl being abused over seven years (ages 7-14), along with her social media photos and personal information including her real name, hometown, and school. Provincial court judge Benoit Gagnon sentenced Larouche to eight years in prison total - three years for creating the deepfake videos and an additional four and a half years for possession. The judge noted this was believed to be the first case in Canada involving deepfakes of child sexual exploitation. Gagnon expressed concern that the technology makes virtually every child vulnerable to having their images stolen from social media and used to create pornographic content. The synthetic images complicate police investigations by making it harder to identify and stop the spread of illicit material, as many legitimate images have digital fingerprints that help law enforcement track them.