Chad Borwick was enjoying a typical Sunday in April when his 16-year-old daughter showed him a nude photo of her and several friends made using artificial intelligence.
Other students had created the image from a real photo of her and her friends fully clothed at a school dance. And it was making the rounds at Nevada High School and even at the middle school.
“I was sick to my stomach because it’s so realistic,” said Borwick, whose daughter is a sophomore in the small city of about 6,900 people. “I was completely caught off guard and blown away. Their dignity was violated.”
What’s worse, police told Borwick and other parents the image was not a crime because no laws were in place at the time it was created.
A new law that Gov. Kim Reynolds signed in April makes creating media that depicts minors in a sexual act a felony. The bill also requires anyone over the age 18 who is convicted of the crime to register as a sex offender.
It takes effect July 1.
“While the images are fake, the damage they do to the victims is very real, so we wanted to make sure it is clearly addressed in Iowa Code to give prosecutors the ability to go after those that commit these heinous crimes,” said Sen. Chris Cournoyer, R-LeClaire, who sponsored the bill.
Neither the Nevada Police Department nor the school district responded to request for comment. But Cournoyer said she thinks there may be other avenues to hold the people responsible.
“The situation is currently under investigation but despite early reports that nothing can be done, there are many cases where the DOJ has been able to successfully prosecute cases like what has happened in Nevada,” Cournoyer said.
Ida Nady, mother of a freshman targeted in the photo, said the school also hasn’t done anything about the situation or punished the students involved. Nady said it has been frustrating to deal with authorities who have told them there’s nothing they can do.
“It’s frustrating and annoying,” Nady said. “This could affect or even ruin my daughter’s life.”
Still, Borwick’s wife, Vanessa Borwick, said she hopes that the students involved will realize how damaging it was.
“I hope they can use their voices to prevent this from happening again,” she said. “I do hope our daughters feel the prayers, love and support from the community instead of embarrassment and shame.”
José Mendiola is a breaking news reporter for the Register. Reach him at [email protected].