Article 134 of the UCMJ covers a wide range of offenses involving child sexual abuse material. That includes unaltered images, digitally altered images, and fully “synthetic” AI-generated depictions. These cases have become a significant law enforcement focus across all services because the methods of creation and distribution have changed rapidly in the past few years.
The Luxembourg Guidelines on CSAM terminology, used by international law enforcement and military agencies, discourage the phrase “AI-Generated CSAM” because no actual child appears in or is harmed by the material, but we use it on this site because it is the term investigators, service members, and the public most often search for.
How Sextortion Is Charged Under the UCMJ
Sextortion does not have its own article. Instead, prosecutors rely on several different Articles depending on the age of the victim, the nature of the incident, and what the accused attempted to obtain. It is common for multiple articles to be charged in the same case.
1. Adult Sextortion Cases
When both parties are adults, sextortion typically appears as a combination of:
- Article 127 (Extortion):
Threatening to expose private information or injure someone’s reputation unless the victim provides money, sexual images, or anything else of value. - Article 120c (Other Sexual Misconduct):
Misusing a communication device to obtain or distribute intimate material, such as when the accused sends a sexual image to the person being extorted as part of the extortion scheme.
These two articles often appear together because adult sextortion usually involves both a coercive threat and an attempt to obtain sexual content.
2. Child Sextortion Cases
When the victim is a minor or is believed to be a minor, the range of potential charges expands to include the following:
- Article 120b (Sexual Abuse of a Child):
Applies when threats, manipulation, or online communication are used to cause a minor to engage in sexual conduct for images, videos, or live broadcasts. An accused can be charged with an attempted offense if the accused believed they were communicating with a minor. - Article 134 (Child Pornography Offenses):
Covers receiving, distributing, producing, or attempting to produce images that depict a minor in sexually explicit conduct. This includes AI-generated, or altered images that appear to depict a minor.
Article 127 and Article 120c can still apply.
Child sextortion cases often involve more than one Article because the conduct usually includes a threat, an attempt to obtain sexual content, and an attempted production or distribution offense.
3. Why Multiple Articles Are Used
Military prosecutors frequently layer charges because sextortion routinely involves several types of misconduct:
- A threat to reputation or disclosure.
- An attempt to obtain sexual imagery.
- Possible production or attempted production of CSAM.
- A mistaken-age component that triggers Article 120b or Article 134 even when no real minor was involved.
This preserves options if investigators uncover multiple victims, deleted content, or partial evidence of illicit communications.
AI-Generated CSAM Is Treated the Same as Traditional CSAM
Federal task forces now treat synthetic and AI-generated imagery the same traditionally produced CSAM. Investigators encounter several common categories:
- Using AI tools to make a real child appear nude or as if engaging in sexual acts.
- Generating illicit images entirely from text prompts.
- Producing “synthetic” children who do not exist but appear to be abused.
- Using AI chat functions to impersonate minors or assist in grooming.
- Modifying existing CSAM with AI to create new files.
The nature of the depiction is the key under Article 134, not whether the depiction is of real, synthetic, or a combination of real and synthetic minors.
How Investigators Approach These Cases
Investigators rely on digital forensic tools and machine-learning systems designed to analyze large volumes of data. These tools can:
- Enhance or reconstruct degraded images.
- Match faces or backgrounds across different image sets.
- Analyze chats for grooming patterns or sexual solicitation.
- Recover deleted messages, videos, photos, and app history.
- Identify previously unknown CSAM series circulating online.
Military investigators use similar methods when reviewing seized phones, computers, storage media, cloud accounts, and gaming or messaging apps.
What Sextortion Looks Like in a Digital Investigation
Although sextortion varies, the patterns tend to be consistent:
- Offenders often pose as teenagers.
- Communication typically starts on gaming platforms, social media, or dating apps.
- Rapport is built, followed by requests for images or video.
- Screenshots or recordings are captured, sometimes without the victim’s knowledge.
- Threats follow: disclose more content, pay money, or the images will be released.
- Multiple accounts may be used to increase pressure on the vicitm.
- Offenders frequently shift conversations to more private or encrypted platforms.
Forensic reviewers look for these patterns across messages, metadata, cloud backups, payment histories, and any attempts to delete or hide communications.
Why These Cases Lead to Serious UCMJ Exposure
Several trends explain why Article 134 CSAM and sextortion cases are treated aggressively:
A. Generated images qualify as CSAM
The manner of creation does not matter. If an image appears to depict a minor engaged in sexual conduct, it can be prosecuted.
B. Quantity and distribution
AI-based tools allow rapid creation and easy sharing.
C. Multi-victim potential
Sextortion schemes often involve numerous victims, although in some cases not every victim wants to participate in the prosecution or can be identified.
D. Device seizures and forensic recovery
Deleted messages, app activity, hidden folders, and partial files can often be reconstructed with current forensic tools.
What Service Members Should Understand
- AI-generated CSAM is treated the same as traditional CSAM under Article 134.
- Attempted production or solicitation involving someone believed to be a minor can trigger Article 120b or Article 134 even if no actual minor existed.
- Depending on the facts of a case, sextortion can fall under Article 127, Article 120c, Article 120b, or Article 134, or a combination of those Articles.
If you’re under investigation for sextortion or AI-related CSAM, or worried that your digital activity is being misinterpreted, call us. We’ve spent more than twenty years defending service members in complex computer-crime cases under the UCMJ. You can reach us for a confidential review at 800-319-3134.