A Georgia man who prosecutors say used artificial intelligence to alter photos into child sex abuse material has been sentenced.
Cobb County Senior Judge Grant Brantley found Ronald Richardson, 49, guilty on 118 counts of sexual exploitation of children after a bench trial on Aug. 13.
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On Wednesday, Richardson was sentenced to 60 years with 40 years to serve and the rest on probation. Prosecutors said Judge Brantley heard 19 victim impact statements and arguments from the state and defense before sentencing him.
As part of the sentence, Richardson must register as a sex offender after his release from custody.
The case started in Dec. 2024 when a student at Gilmer High School told a school resource officer that Richardson, who worked as a drink machine vendor, asked her through a social media app to send pictures that she believed were inappropriate.
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The Gilmer County Sheriff's Office then opened an investigation and arrested Richardson in Jan. 2025, according to the release. Deputies also carried out search warrants for his electronic devices, car and home.
Investigators found hundreds of images and videos of child sex abuse material during those searches, including altered images of minors they recognized from the Gilmer County community, prosecutors said.
The DeKalb County District's Attorney Office served as conflict prosecutor in the case and continued the investigation with the Gilmer County Sheriff's Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).
A grand jury later indicted Richardson in a case involving more than 150 underage victims in and outside of Georgia.
Investigators said they found that Richardson used social media to find and download photos of minors, then uploaded the pictures to online applications and bots to digitally alter the images so the subjects appeared nude or in some cases engaged in sexual activity.
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