Paid to Uphold the Law, Charged Over AI Child Abuse Images, Authorities Say
Bucks County authorities allege that a deputy attorney general made and shared AI-generated abuse material and separately shared material depicting real children. New Jersey's Attorney General's Office says it is cooperating with investigators.
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A New Jersey deputy attorney general was arrested on child sexual abuse material charges after a tip about a Discord image led Pennsylvania investigators to alleged AI-generated images, Bucks County authorities said.
Brian Richard Fitzgerald, 51, who lives in Lower Makefield Township, Pennsylvania, was arrested on October 15, 2026. Authorities allege that he used an AI program to create and share child sexual abuse material and separately acquired and shared material depicting real children.
Fitzgerald faces three felony charges: possession of child sexual abuse material, dissemination of photos or film of child sexual abuse material, and criminal use of a communication facility. The allegations have not been proved in court, and he is presumed innocent.
The case puts a lawyer employed by New Jersey's Attorney General's Office under criminal scrutiny across the state line in Pennsylvania. A spokesperson for the New Jersey office said it was cooperating with Bucks County authorities and taking action regarding his employment.
"No one is above the law, least of all someone entrusted with upholding it," Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan said. He said his office would pursue the cases aggressively regardless of the accused person's profession or title.
Magisterial District Judge Corryn L. Kronnagel set bail at $2 million, with 10 percent listed as the required percentage, and remanded Fitzgerald to Bucks County Correctional Facility. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for later in October.
