AI at Center of Santa Barbara Sex Crimes Case
City Resident Convicted Under New California Law that Combats Computer-Generated Child Abuse Materials
The case against Dayton Aldrich, who worked for the City of Santa Barbara as a community development specialist when he was arrested in August 2025, is among the first on the Central Coast to utilize the new legislation.
Assembly Bill 1831 was drafted in response to the emergence of deepfake technology and “nudify” apps capable of creating images indistinguishable from real photographs. It closed a legal loophole by including AI-generated materials under existing state penal code for CSAM and is meant to combat the subsequent explosion of illicit content across the dark web.
In 2023, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received 4,700 reports from electronic service providers of AI-generated CSAM. In 2024, the number of tips jumped to 67,000. And in 2025, that figure skyrocketed to 1.5 million. Forty-five states now have laws on the books similar to California’s.
According to Aldrich’s arrest affidavit, Santa Barbara police received information from NCMEC that “a Santa Barbara based account was engaged in a sexually explicit text conversation with a North Carolina user regarding sexual molestation of high school students.” Investigators quickly traced the conversation to Aldrich and the internet address at his Bath Street apartment.
A review of Aldrich’s chat history on Kik, a mobile messaging app where he went by the username “onlyplayingaroundvvv,” “clearly displayed the suspect’s unnatural interest in minors,” the affidavit states. Lead investigator Eric Davis noted that Aldrich had previously worked for the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office as a victim program assistant and that he “immediately recognized him in the selfies from Kik.”
A full review of the content that Aldrich had created and shared uncovered “multiple images of CSAM,” Davis wrote. “For two of the victims, I was able to determine their real identities and confirm they were minors at the time of the photographs that Aldrich used to make AI-generated pornography of them.” One of the victims is a former child actress, and the other is a prolific member of the “TeenTok” community, a subculture of content created by and for teenagers on TikTok.
At the time of his arrest, Aldrich was the board president of the Winchester Canyon Gun Club and was known to keep multiple firearms at his apartment. Police surprised him in the middle of the night and took him into custody without incident. They seized more than 20 registered guns, high-capacity magazines, body armor, and approximately 10,000-15,000 rounds of ammunition.
Though Aldrich initially faced a number of felony charges, he ultimately pleaded guilty to a single count of possessing CSAM. With no prior criminal history, he was sentenced to a year in county jail, two years of probation, and a mandatory lifetime sex offender registration. Shortly after his arrest, Aldrich was fired from his city job and voted off the board of the gun club.
Assembly Bill 1831 was authored by Assemblymember Marc Berman from Northern California and co-sponsored by Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko. During trips to Sacramento to advocate for the legislation, they were accompanied by 16-year-old Ventura County resident Kaylin Hayman, a former Disney actress whose face was used by a Pennsylvania man to create explicit images and videos. “Advocating for this bill has been extremely empowering, and I am grateful to the DA’s office as well as my parents for supporting me through this process,” Hayman said at the signing. “This law will be revolutionary, and justice will be served to future victims.”
Man gets 50 years in Comal County child sexual abuse case
A 58-year-old Oklahoma man was sentenced in Comal County district court after admitting to sexually abusing a child while living with a family in the area, according to the Comal County Criminal District Attorney’s Office.
In a May 13 release, the criminal district attorney’s office stated that Ignacio Corona, 58, was sentenced to 50 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice following guilty pleas to four charges of indecency with a child by contact and one charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child.
He received the maximum sentence of 20 years for each of the former charges and 50 for the latter charge, but all sentences will run concurrently, the CDA’s office stated. Because the victim was younger than 14 years of age at the time of the offense, Corona will be required to serve at least half of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
The release detailed the investigation, which began June 4, 2025, after the Comal County Sheriff’s Office received a report that the child victim had disclosed to her mother that Corona, a family member who had been staying with the victim’s family for the past year, had sexually abused her on multiple occasions over a period of months. According to the release, the victim reported that the abuse began when she was 12 years old.
She stated that Corona would come into her room, close and lock the door behind him and prevent her from leaving. The victim stated that when she attempted to get away from Corona, he would trap her and stop her from escaping.
When the child’s mother learned of the abuse allegations, the release stated she confronted Corona, who then left the residence. Corona briefly returned to Oklahoma before later returning to live with another family member in San Antonio.
During the investigation, the release stated that detectives conducted an interview with Corona, during which he initially denied that any abuse had occurred. Corona claimed he could not remember any misconduct, questioned whether the victim was telling the truth and suggested that the victim may have been upset with him because he would not purchase items for her from Amazon.
However, the CDA’s office said that Corona later contacted detectives and requested to speak with them further about the case. During a follow-up interview, Corona admitted that he had initially lied to his family and investigators and stated that he could not sleep until he told the truth about what had happened. During that interview, Corona admitted to the abuse allegations, according to the release.
Corona pled guilty on April 15, 2026, and Judge Tracie Wright-Reneau of the 207th District Court presided over the hearing. This case was prosecuted on behalf of the State of Texas by Assistant District Attorney Cassandra Guajardo.
“The Comal County District Attorney’s Office would like to give special recognition to Det. Eric Guerrettaz for his hard work and dedication throughout this investigation,” the release stated.
Alabama man sentenced to life for giving child vapes in exchange for sex acts
