Parkland man accused in AI-generated child pornography case after tip from Grok, investigators say
A 25-year-old Parkland man is out of jail on bond after Broward Sheriff's Office investigators arrested him in a child pornography investigation that authorities say began with a tip from the artificial intelligence platform Grok.
According to the Broward Sheriff's Office arrest report, Ray Lequerique, 25, faces 11 counts related to child pornography.
Investigators say the case began after a cyber tip was submitted through Grok, the AI chatbot developed by xAI and integrated into X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
According to the arrest report, investigators found altered images depicting child sexual abuse material, including images of a 5-year-old girl and children between the ages of 5 and 9 engaged in sexual conduct.
CBS Miami spoke with Lequerique's father, Ray Lequerique Sr., who said he believes his son's arrest is unjust.
The elder Lequerique said his son has the mental capacity of a fourth grader and has lived with physical and cognitive impairments since infancy. He described his son as a victim, saying he was drawn to the AI application because he enjoys drawing.
Lequerique's attorney, Matthew Baldwin, said the Broward State Attorney's Office had not yet formally filed charges at the time of CBS Miami's reporting. Baldwin said he plans to seek to have the case transferred to mental health court and request a determination of his client's competency.
As artificial intelligence tools become more widely available, child safety advocates say parents should be aware of how children are using emerging technology.
CBS Miami also spoke with the Child Rescue Coalition, a Boca Raton-based nonprofit that develops technology used by law enforcement agencies to identify online child predators.
"Our technology has led to the arrest of 17,000 predators," said Greg Schiller, the organization's CEO and a former prosecutor who has spent more than two decades handling child exploitation cases.
Schiller encouraged parents to regularly monitor the apps their children download, have ongoing conversations about online safety and install parental monitoring software to better understand how their children are using internet-connected devices.
The Child Rescue Coalition is scheduled to host a forum for parents on July 29 at its Boca Raton headquarters focused on protecting children online amid the rapid growth of artificial intelligence tools.
The charges against Lequerique are allegations. He is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.