WYOMING, Mich. — A man flagged by Facebook for sharing sexually abusive material is facing several felony charges linked to child pornography, including a photo-shopped image depicting one girl’s face on the nude body of a different girl.
The photo-shopped image, also referred to as ‘face swapping,’ has Christofer James Haugen facing up to 20 years in prison.
Haugen, 42, came on police radar earlier this year when Facebook reported a user for sharing child sexually abusive material on their site, court records show.
The account name was Christofer Haugen and an IP address used to upload the material came back to Haugen’s home in Wyoming, a state police trooper wrote in a probable cause affidavit.
“One of the CSAM pictures had the face of a girl photo-shopped onto the body of another nude girl,’’ the trooper wrote. “Haugen admitted to these actions.’’
Haugen recently had an appearance in Wyoming District Court on four felony charges, including child sexually abusive activity and using a computer to commit a crime. The case has moved to Kent County Circuit Court.
More felony charges were filed in an unrelated case involving the sexual assault of a victim who was physically helpless. Police say that offense occurred last November in Cedar Springs.
Charges include third-degree criminal sexual conduct involving an incapacitated victim and capturing/distributing an image of an unclothed person. Haugen has a hearing set for Sept. 28 in 63rd District Court.
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker said technology has been a boon for sex predators in terms of production and distribution.
“In the past, there wasn’t an easy way to share,’’ he said. “But with the use of phones and all the iPads, it’s made it tremendously easier for pedophiles to engage in this sort of behavior.’’
Earlier this year, 50-year-old Benjamin Drake was charged with having thousands of child porn images, including ones made with a face swap app. That case is pending in Kent County Circuit Court.
A thumb drive taken Drake’s motel room in southern Kent County contained more than 27,000 images; many were child sexually abusive material, court records show.
Drake told investigators he uses a face swap application and has used the face of a five-year-old girl, according to court records.
Kent County Sheriff’s Lt. Joel Roon says it is a disturbing trend.
Face swap technology used to create child pornography “can happen anonymously without the person’s knowledge,’’ Roon said.
“And with as many images that exist on the web through social media and other means, it makes a lot of people’s faces readily available,’’ Roon said.
Becker said prosecution of offenders is a priority for his office.
“Even with switching faces, we can still go after it because the image appears to be that of a child,’’ Becker said. “It’s the image of a child being used in that.’’
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