A 36-year-old man from Massachusetts, James Florence, has agreed to plead guilty to a seven-year cyberstalking campaign that involved using AI chatbots to impersonate a university professor and encourage men to visit her home for sexual encounters. Using platforms like CrushOn. ai and JanitorAI, he created chatbots that mimicked the victim’s identity and distributed her personal information, such as her address and date of birth, to engage in sexual conversations with users. Florence stole items, including underwear, from the victim to harass her further. This case, which marks a potential first in legally recognizing the use of chatbots for stalking purposes, involved creating misleading accounts on various social media platforms and sharing explicit images of the victim.

The harassment spanned from 2017 to 2024, leading the victim and her husband to feel unsafe; they took precautionary measures like installing surveillance systems. Moreover, Florence targeted several other women and a minor, digitally altering their images for exploitation. Experts highlight the increasing misuse of AI for harassment, particularly against minors, raising concerns about how accessible technology can facilitate abuse. With the rise of such incidents, there is a growing demand for solutions to address these emerging threats in digital harassment.