He recorded under a minor’s skirt during a therapy session with him, made secret videos of patients in the shower and “used AI to digitally alter clothed images of minors making them sexually explicit.”
A child psychiatrist has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for the sexual exploitation of minors and creating child pornography with artificial intelligence.
41-year-old David Tatum of Charlotte, North Carolina was found guilty in May of a slew of charges related to child sex abuse images and videos. The US Department of Justice released a statement last week announcing the sentencing.
“As a child psychiatrist, Tatum knew the damaging, long-lasting impact sexual exploitation has on the wellbeing of victimized children. Regardless, he engaged in the depraved practice of using secret recordings of his victims to create illicit images and videos of them,” US Attorney Dena J. King said on Wednesday. “Tatum also misused artificial intelligence in the worst possible way: to victimize children. Today’s 40-year sentence underscores our efforts to do all we can to bring justice to child victims. As the field of artificial intelligence advances, my office is committed to prosecuting predators who seek to exploit this technology to inflict harm on children.”
“It is horrific to believe anyone would secretly record children undressing and showering for their own sexual gratification. And when the evidence proves that person is a doctor entrusted to help children through difficult mental health situations, it is inconceivable,” FBI Charlotte Special Agent in Charge Robert M. DeWitt stated. “The FBI will never stop working to put predators like Tatum behind bars for a very long time.
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Tatum had a practice in Charlotte, where authorities found him in possession of child pornography he both produced and transported. He is said to have been in possession of this abusive content from 2016 to 2021.
Evidence was presented in court to show that in the summer of 2016 Tatum had secretly recorded a minor while they were undressing and showering. He is also said to have made similar “surreptitious recordings of others,” according to the DOJ, “including of his patient during an outpatient visit.”
He is also said to have recorded under a minor’s skirt during a therapy session with him, according to court docs obtained by People.
Evidence at trial also proved Tatum had employed artificial intelligence to make images of minors sexually explicit by removing their clothing. Some of the images were from a school dance and a first day of school.
The feds became aware of Tatum’s abuse via a tip back in September 2021.
Following his 40-year sentence, Tatum faces three more decades of supervised release and restitution of an as-yet to be determined amount in addition to $99,000 in fees.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.