Commerce Township man pleads guilty to using AI-generated pornography to cyberstalk social media influencer
DETROIT / Tuesday, January 27, 2026 – Joshua Stilman, 37, pleaded guilty today to one count of cyberstalking, United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon announced today.
Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Detroit.
From at least February 2025 through March 2025, Stilman created artificial intelligence (AI)-generated nude and sexually graphic images of Victim-1 using publicly available images of her. In private social media messages with Victim-1, Stilman frequently asked Victim-1 about her sexual preferences and made sexual threats of his own. Eventually, Stilman told Victim-1 that he would release the AI-generated images of Victim-1 to her nearly 100,000 social media followers if she did not continue to respond to his messages.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 21, 2026. Cyberstalking has a maximum term of imprisonment of five years.
"Joshua Stilman's guilty plea makes clear that cyber stalking - especially when amplified through the weaponization of artificial intelligence - is a dangerous offense, not a harmless online act,” said Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. "Hiding behind a keyboard to intimidate and harass another person is an act of cowardice, and today's outcome demonstrates that such behavior will be met with full accountability. I commend the extraordinary courage of the victim, whose willingness to come forward and persistence in pursuing justice made this result possible."
This case was investigated by the Oakland County Resident Agency of the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Zachary Zurek.
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Michigan
