CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A child psychiatrist in Charlotte, N.C. was convicted in May of one count of the production of child pornography, one count of the transportation of child pornography and one count of the possession of child pornography. Last week he was sentenced to 40 years in prison for secretly recording his underage family members and using artificial intelligence (AI) to create child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of North Carolina.
David Tatum, 41, created the AI images by modifying pictures of ex-girlfriends with sexually explicit images of minors which he had obtained online. Tatum digitally altered images from a school dance and a photo commemorating the first day of school to make them sexually explicit, Queen City News reported.
“We became aware of Tatum’s conduct sometime in September 2021 after an individual who knew Dr. Tatum contacted the FBI to report that Tatum was in possession of what that person suspected may have been child pornography,” said Dena J. King, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
As he collected disturbing images, the warped psychiatrist surreptitiously recorded his 15-year-old cousin as she got naked in a bathroom to shower at a family vacation home in Maine. He also secretly recorded other family members too, including more minors, getting naked and showering in the bathroom, according to federal authorities.
Court records revealed that Tatum viewed more than 1,000 child pornography files, all of which contained the phrase, “PTHC,” which stands for “pre-teen hard core.” He possessed the child pornography from 2016 through 2021, Queen City News reported.
Tatum’s crimes were even more damning since he worked as a child psychiatrist, King said. according to Fox News Digital.
“Tatum knew the damaging, long-lasting impact sexual exploitation has on the wellbeing of victimized children,” King said. “Regardless, he engaged in the depraved practice of using secret recordings of his victims to create illicit images and videos of them.”
“[The] 40-year sentence underscores our efforts to do all we can to bring justice to child victims. As the field of artificial intelligence advances, my office is committed to prosecuting predators who seek to exploit this technology to inflict harm on children,” King noted.
According to an Atrium Health spokesperson, Tatum was employed with the hospital system from October 2016 to December 2021. After learning of the allegations, Tatum was immediately suspended, then terminated from his contract to practice with the health care provider, reported Queen City News.
“It is important to note Dr. Tatum was not found to have had any improper contact with or images of any of our patients. In no way does Dr. Tatum’s behavior reflect the values of our organization, nor what we nor our patients expect from our care providers,” an Atrium Health spokesperson said.
“We are deeply troubled that someone entrusted to heal and guide children could be involved in such disturbing and unacceptable behavior,” said the spokesperson. “When we first learned of the possibility, we took immediate action to keep Dr. Tatum away from patients, blocking his access to patient and organizational information.”
Following his lengthy prison sentence, Tatum will be subjected to 30 years of supervised release, authorities confirmed.
