March 13th, 2026 Local News
St. Francois Co., Mo. (KFMO) - A Farmington man has pleaded guilty in federal court to failing to register social media accounts he used while creating and promoting AI-generated child sexual abuse material.
Seventy-year-old Joel Kerbrat admitted the charge Tuesday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis. Kerbrat pleaded guilty to one count of failing to update his registration as a sex offender.
Kerbrat was previously convicted in 2010 of possession of child pornography. After serving his sentence, he was placed on lifetime supervised release and required to register as a sex offender. That registration includes reporting all “internet identifiers,” such as social media accounts and email addresses.
According to federal authorities, Kerbrat’s probation officer visited his Farmington home on July 18, 2024. During the visit, the officer observed a laptop and cellphone in plain view. A search of the laptop revealed a program used to generate artificial intelligence images, along with a profile for an AI-generated teenage girl.
Investigators say Kerbrat admitted he had used the program to create images depicting child pornography.
A forensic examination of his electronic devices also revealed several unregistered online accounts, including one on Discord, another on LiveChat, and an unregistered email address.
Federal prosecutors say Kerbrat participated in a Discord group where members discussed and promoted the creation of AI-generated pornographic images. Authorities also determined Kerbrat frequently used a website designed to generate AI images. Records show he visited the site hundreds of times, including a page titled “build a preteen.”
As part of his plea agreement, Kerbrat admitted creating 52 images containing child sexual abuse material involving prepubescent girls, along with 251 images described as “potential CSAM” depicting teenage girls. Investigators also found hundreds of images of nude children and thousands of adult pornographic images.
Kerbrat is scheduled to be sentenced June 15. The charge of failing to register as a sex offender carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in federal prison.