A Bethlehem man who authorities said used artificial intelligence to alter images of two juveniles to depict them as naked and then saved them on his computer was sentenced this week in Lehigh County Court to 28 months to 10 years in state prison.

Adam Erdman, 35, became the first defendant in the state to be convicted and sentenced under a statue banning artificially generated sexual depictions of a child. He faced a potential sentence of five to 10 years at a state facility.

Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan said that Erdman, who was charged in April and pleaded guilty in September to one count of child sex abuse material, was sentenced by Judge Anna-Kristie M. Marks.

The case began on March 31 when Bethlehem police were informed by the defendant’s estranged wife that she went on Erdman’s computer to access his email and found an email with the subject line “still images.”

The woman, whose name will not be released by police, said that she saw three AI-generated nude images of juvenile females.

Holihan said the investigation revealed Erdman obtained innocent vacation photos of two children under the age of 18 and then used artificial intelligence photo-editing software to alter the images of the children so they appeared naked. He then saved those altered images on his laptop.

The DA said Erdman downloaded the vacation photos from a personal social media site of the victims’ parents and then used AI to inappropriately alter the images.