‘I know it’s wrong’: Feds say Roseville woman shared AI…
A 43-year-old Roseville woman was arrested by federal agents for allegedly distributing AI-generated nude images of a 14-year-old girl on the app Kik.
- Incident date
- Jul 2026
- Target
- an unidentified 14-year-old girl
In July 2026, federal agents arrested 43-year-old Deborah Louise Coatney of Roseville, Michigan, following an undercover investigation into the distribution of AI-generated sexually explicit content. The investigation, led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), centered on the activities of a user identified as 'Debdeb' on the mobile messaging application Kik.
What happened
An undercover HSI agent, posing as a father interested in child exploitation groups, observed the user 'Debdeb' sharing nude images of a 14-year-old girl within a Kik group. The images included the minor in a cheerleading uniform, which helped investigators link the activity to the metro Detroit area. When questioned by the undercover agent about the origin of the images, 'Debdeb' confirmed they were AI-generated and identified the victim as 14.
Following the identification of the user's IP address and account details, agents executed a search warrant at Coatney’s residence on July 16, 2026. During the search and subsequent interviews, Coatney admitted that the 'Debdeb' account belonged to her and that she had been distributing the AI-generated images for several weeks to impress another user who allegedly created the content. Coatney acknowledged the behavior was wrong, stating, 'I know it’s wrong' and 'I know what I did was absolutely wrong.'
Coatney was charged in federal court with Attempted Distribution of Child Pornography and Attempted Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography. She appeared in court on July 17 and was released on a $10,000 personal bond. The investigation revealed that the images were distributed across multiple groups, each containing approximately 100 people.