A child psychiatrist in North Carolina last week was sentenced to 40 years in prison after allegedly using artificial intelligence to manufacture child porn, according to prosecutors. 

David Tatum, 41, is accused of videotaping minors undressing and showering and also using AI to “digitally alter clothed images of minors making them sexually explicit,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina.

Some of his alleged victims included his own patients, according to the release. 

“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,” said U.S. Attorney Dena J. King. 

“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,” King added. “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.”

Tatum on Wednesday was sentenced to four decades in prison, along with three decades of supervised release. 

The sentencing comes six months after a jury convicted Tatum of one count of production of child pornography, one count of transportation of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography. 

After he is released from prison, Tatum will be required to register as a sex offender, the release says. 

“It is horrific to believe anyone would secretly record children undressing and showering for their own sexual gratification,” said FBI special agent Robert M. DeWitt. “And when the evidence proves that person is a doctor entrusted to help children through difficult mental health situations, it is inconceivable.”