Highlights
- William Powderly, 44, of Chandler was indicted on 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a class 2 felony.
- The Maricopa County Attorney's Office called it the first prosecution under HB2678, which took effect September 2025.
- AI was used to swap a real child's face onto explicit images; if convicted, Powderly faces lifetime probation.
- Chandler Police opened the investigation after a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
A Chandler man has been indicted as the first person in Arizona prosecuted under a 2025 state law making AI-generated child sexual abuse material a felony, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office announced Tuesday.
William Powderly, 44, was indicted on 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a class 2 felony, according to MCAO. The indictment alleges Powderly possessed child sexual abuse material that included two images in which AI was used to swap the face of a real child onto the face of another young female in sexually explicit images, according to MCAO.
The case is the first brought under House Bill 2678, sponsored by Rep. Julie Willoughby, R-Chandler. The legislation, which MCAO supported, was signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs and took effect September 26, 2025. The law equalized penalties for AI-generated depictions with those for real child sexual abuse material.
Because the images depict a child under 15, the charges qualify as a dangerous crime against children under the amended statute. If convicted, Powderly faces lifetime probation. He is being held on a $150,000 bond.
The Chandler Police Department opened the investigation after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to MCAO.
Why does this case matter beyond the criminal charge?
HB2678 closed a gap in Arizona law that previously left AI-generated depictions in a legal gray zone. The Powderly indictment is the first test of that statute in a courtroom. Federal prosecutors brought their first AI CSAM case against a Texas man earlier this year, and other states, including Alaska, are pursuing similar legislation, though constitutional challenges have emerged in some jurisdictions.
The case also arrives as KJZZ, azfamily.com, and FOX 10 Phoenix have each independently confirmed the indictment and its first-of-its-kind status in Arizona. Willoughby did not respond to a request for comment, according to the Arizona Mirror.
Powderly's arraignment date has not been publicly announced.
Sources
Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.
- azmirror.com retrieved 12/05/2026 22:11
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 12/05/2026 22:11. Every claim traces to a source.
