A Florida woman this week pleaded no contest to false reporting to law enforcement after police said she admitted to using artificial intelligence to disguise an October 911 call alleging a man had broken into her home and sexually assaulted her, an action that reflects a disturbing new TikTok trend.
Brooke Taylor Sinault, 32, reported to St. Petersburg police on Oct. 7 that an unknown man had broken into her home and assaulted her.
When officers arrived at the scene, they found no evidence of a crime, but Sinault showed them a photo of a man he claimed was the suspect.
In a second phone call, Sinault told police she had been sexually assaulted.
“On that second call, we were able to reach out to one of the detectives upstairs to review the evidence we had and give the officers on scene advice on how to proceed with this case,” Ashley Limardo, a public affairs specialist with the department, told FOX 13 at the time. “As soon as the detective saw the image, he recognized it as a trend we were seeing online.”
“It was subsequently determined that the photo was AI-generated via ChatGPT,” police later wrote in charging documents. “The photo provided to police was found in a deleted folder” and was apparently taken “several days before she claimed the robbery occurred.”
According to a police report obtained by a crime news site, detectives working on the case believed Sinault was participating in the “AI Homeless Man” TikTok prank. smoking gunHowever, Sinault said, “We don't follow any trends.” She admitted to lying about the trespassing and rape during a difficult time when she was suffering from depression and seeking attention, documents said.
Mr. Sinault was placed on probation and ordered to pay a fine.
Shinault's phone number listed in police documents is no longer reachable.
independent person has contacted Sinault's public defender and the emails associated with Sinault in public records for comment.
As part of the trend, which has garnered millions of views on TikTok, social media users are using artificial intelligence to create photorealistic images of homeless people in their homes to capture the attention of family and friends.
The prank has led to false calls to police in Texas, Washington state and England, and law enforcement agencies are warning the public that engaging in this trend dehumanizes the homeless and could waste resources responding to actual crimes.
