CTO of Utah AI company arrested on child exploitation charges

Arrest follows ex-wife's discovery

Burke Clark Powers, 48, the chief technology officer of a Utah-based artificial intelligence company, was arrested July 22 on 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, according to court documents filed in Utah County. The arrest followed a report from Powers' ex-wife, who discovered AI-generated explicit images of a minor relative on his computer and Google Drive account.

The woman told investigators that Powers appeared to have been scanning yearbook photographs into the AI program he was using. She reported the incident to authorities and provided copies of folders from the Google Drive account containing what she described as numerous other folders with similar content.

Search warrant reveals extensive collection

After the FBI National Threat Operations Center was notified, a Utah County Sheriff's Office detective reviewed the material, confirmed the presence of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and obtained a search warrant for the Google account. The subsequent investigation uncovered a large quantity of AI-generated images and videos, including both adult pornography and CSAM.

Investigators found source images that had been used to create the explicit material involving the minor victim. They also discovered explicit images of children where officers could not determine whether the subjects were real children or entirely AI-generated. Additionally, Powers had allegedly used AI tools to superimpose adult friends' faces onto pornographic images.

The Utah County Sheriff's Office confirmed that Powers serves as chief technology officer and part-owner of a Utah-based AI company, though the company's name has not been publicly disclosed.

Suspect denies, then partially admits allegations

When deputies served a search warrant at Powers' residence and took him into custody, he initially denied creating the AI-generated CSAM during questioning, stating he had "no idea how that would have happened." Powers later admitted to making images of children "by accident," claiming he would delete them immediately and tried to avoid terms that generated minors.

Powers was booked into the Utah County Jail but has since been released. He has not been formally charged, and the allegations remain accusations. Under the legal standard, all arrested persons are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Why it matters

This case represents one of the first high-profile arrests of a technology executive specifically for using AI tools to generate child sexual abuse material. As generative AI becomes more accessible and sophisticated, law enforcement agencies face mounting challenges in distinguishing between real and synthetic CSAM, while prosecutors grapple with how existing child exploitation statutes apply to AI-generated content. The arrest of a CTO at an AI company raises questions about industry oversight and the potential misuse of generative technology by those with technical expertise and access to advanced tools.

Details of the arrest were first reported by ABC4 in Utah through reporter Sorina Trauntvein.