The sheriff says an Antioch man was found to have generated sexually explicit videos of a child relative using AI before trying to frame the child’s mother with the crime by making a false police report.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded around 3:30 p.m. on March 25 to meet with Stuart M. Lowrey, 35, of unincorporated Antioch, for a suspicious incident report.
Lowrey told deputies that he was walking in his neighborhood when he was approached by an unknown woman, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Office Chief Christopher Covelli.
He claimed the woman handed him a cell phone and told him there was child pornography on the device.
Lowrey stated that the woman also provided him with the phone’s passcode before walking away, Covelli said.
Lowrey said he returned home, used the passcode to unlock the phone and located videos depicting a young child engaged in sexual acts.
Covelli said Lowrey identified the child depicted in the videos as a relative of his.
Detectives were called to investigate further due to inconsistencies in Lowrey’s account.
Lowrey changed his version of events multiple times while discussing with detectives and eventually admitted he had lied about the initial story, Covelli said.
A further investigation showed that Lowrey is involved in an ongoing custody dispute with the mother of the child in the images.
Lowrey is a distant relative of the child and had previously obtained custody of her.
Covelli said investigators learned Lowrey had taken photographs of the child and the child’s mother and used an online service to generate sexually explicit videos using those images, including videos depicting the child.
Sheriff’s detectives arrested Lowrey and initially charged him with filing a false police report.
Detectives also obtained a search warrant for Lowrey’s cell phone.
The child was then taken into protective custody by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), Covelli said.
The child was interviewed at the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center in Gurnee.
A forensic analysis of Lowrey’s phone revealed numerous videos of child pornography, including additional AI-generated videos exploiting the child and the child’s mother, Covelli said.
The facts and circumstances of the investigation were reviewed by the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office, which authorized an arrest warrant.
The warrant was approved on Wednesday by a judge, charging Lowrey with five counts of producing child sexual abuse material, a Class X felony.
Sheriff’s detectives arrested Lowrey at his home on Wednesday.
Detectives also conducted a search warrant at the residence earlier in the day and seized additional electronic devices, which are pending forensic analysis.
“This is a disturbing case involving someone accused of deliberately creating videos that sexually exploit a child, then attempting to mislead deputies with a fabricated story. We take crimes against children and the most vulnerable very seriously and will pursue every lead to protect victims while holding offenders accountable,” Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg said.
“I am proud of the deputies and detectives who quickly uncovered the truth and ensured the child was removed from this horrific situation, as well as the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office for their continued collaboration on this case,” Idleburg said.
Lowrey appeared for a detention hearing on Thursday afternoon and Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted a petition to detain the man pending trial.
“Judge, this is not a hobby. He’s not collecting ships in a bottle or Pokemon cards. He’s collecting child sexual abuse material,” Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Patrick Windmoeller said during the hearing as he argued for Lowrey to be detained due to his dangerousness.
A public defender for Lowrey said her client has never been charged with anything before and the intent behind the generated videos was not to be disseminated to others but instead to frame the mother of the child so the child would not be returned to her.
Covelli said the investigation remains ongoing and additional charges are likely.
Lowrey remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on April 29 for a preliminary hearing.