Army Spc. Seth Herrera was found with thousands of images of child sexual abuse in his possession, including infants, the Justice Department said. (U.S. Justice Department)
A former U.S. soldier pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Alaska to charges stemming from his creation of child sexual abuse materials in which he used artificial intelligence to transform images of children he knew into pornographic content.
Former Spc. Seth Herrera, 36, changed his plea Wednesday from not guilty to guilty and signed a plea agreement that will require him to be sentenced to 15 to 20 years in prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Herrera also agreed to “supervised release” for at least 20 years after he leaves prison, and to register as a sex offender.
Herrera’s formal sentencing will be Sept. 29. He will continue to be held at the Anchorage Correctional Complex, an Alaska state detention facility with moderate-level security, until his sentencing.
Herrera admitted to the crimes during periods when he served at Fort Bliss, Texas, and at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska.
Court documents show that beginning in March 2021, Herrera used multiple encrypted applications to make, access, possess, receive and transport the child sexual abuse materials on his cellphones.
“He created his own publicly accessible group on one of the platforms where he stored his preferred CSAM files,” said a statement from the U.S. Attorney for Alaska office. “In six weeks, he uploaded over 100 files to this group.”
Herrera belonged to more than 400 Telegram groups and more than 1,400 Telegram channels, according to court documents.
“Some groups focused on (images) involving bestiality, incest and infants/toddlers,” the U.S. attorney’s statement said.
Herrera was a motor transport operator assigned to the 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion of the 11th Airborne Division, the Army said. He joined the Army in November 2019 and was stationed at Fort Sill, Okla.; Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.; Fort Bliss; and South Korea before his assignment at Elmendorf-Richardson in August 2023, according to the Army.
Law enforcement seized Herrera’s devices in May 2024 and discovered tens of thousands of videos and images depicting sadistic and masochistic content of boys and girls ranging in age from infant through pubescent.
Artificial intelligence software can be used to combine a photo of a real person with a sexually explicit image or video to create a “deep fake” that the program can often animate as well.
Starting in December 2022, Herrera used various AI tools on Telegram and other websites to generate sexual abuse images by taking non-explicit images of children, some known to him personally, and using AI to undress and morph bodies and make it appear as if they were engaging in sexually explicit conduct, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Herrera admitted to taking surreptitious photos and recordings of minors known to him in El Paso, Texas. In December 2022, Herrera captured screenshots of minors via security cameras around his home. In one instance, Herrera used AI chatbots to enhance and improve the quality of an explicit screenshot.
In total, Herrera secretly produced at least 28 photos and two videos of one minor from security cameras.
Herrera moved to Alaska in August 2023 and transported all his CSAM files across state lines because they were stored in password-protected photo vaults on his phones.
Herrera was arrested on Aug. 23, 2024, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson after a federal grand jury indicted him for transportation, receipt and possession of child pornography.
On May 14, 2025, a grand jury in the Western District of Texas indicted Herrera for production and receipt of child pornography related to his conduct in El Paso. Herrera entered his plea under a global plea agreement after the Western District of Texas transferred its case to the District of Alaska on June 15.
A federal district court judge will determine a sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Major sex crimes allegedly committed by soldiers are usually prosecuted by the Army’s Office of the Special Trial Counsel, based at Fort Belvoir, Va.
Michelle McCaskill, spokeswoman for the Army’s Office of Special Trial Counsel, said last year that the Army could have prosecuted Herrera and other soldiers under the Uniform Code of Military Justice or had the case filed by federal prosecutors in the U.S. District Court of Alaska.
“However, there is no mandatory minimum sentence for child pornography in the military,” McCaskill said. “In federal court, there is a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years for child pornography.”
