A 17-year-old boy in Tennessee is facing multiple charges related to child pornography, and as a result of the severity of his crimes, he’s being charged as an adult. Christian Zarate had possession of dozens of images of girls under the age of 17 to be used for sexual gratification purposes. Details about the exact ages of the girls he had pictures of have not been released to protect the victims, but it has been revealed that some of the images were of girls he goes to school with. Zarate used social media to steal the images of his female classmates before using AI to make pornographic versions.
Police have not said who turned him in.
In December 2025, a report was filed with the Johnson City Police Department, according to WJHL. At that time, officers found more than 50 images that would be considered child pornography. Twenty-eight of those images were sexually explicit AI-generated images of girls in Zarate’s class.
Some of the images were taken from their social media accounts before being uploaded into an artificial intelligence image generator. Zarate then posted them in an online chatroom.
Zarate reportedly began secretly taping some of his victims in July 2025 and one in September while she was at the grocery store. That victim saw the videos of her taken by Zarate and found videos of her classmates, WJHL reported.
Investigators said they also found 24 sexually explicit videos and pictures of children taken from the internet. Police said the videos were used for sexual gratification purposes, according to the outlet. All of the victims were younger than 17 at the time.
According to WJHL, Zarate has been charged with 28 counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, which is performance or production; two counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, which is the purchase, sale, or distribution; one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, more than 50 images, which is possession; and 10 counts of unlawful photography.
A motive for the alleged crimes has not been given.
One of his victims, who remains anonymous because of her age, spoke with WJHL after the April 24 court appearance.
She said that she had known Zarate for about two years and saw him four times a week. She described him as “quiet,” adding that she would never expect something like this from him.
“He’s not a good kid — he could’ve had anything and threw it all away,” she said. “He knew what he was doing,” she said, calling Zarate “sick.”
Records obtained by WJHL showed that Zarate has undergone a mental evaluation, and based on the findings of an expert, he was not eligible to be committed to an institution.
A criminal defense attorney weighed in on the case.
WJHL spoke with criminal defense attorney Gene Scott about the decision to try Zarate as an adult. Scott is not affiliated with Zarate’s case in any way, but he does have nearly 25 years of experience as a lawyer.
“In general, a defendant is not going to benefit from the case being moved from juvenile court to criminal court,” he said. “Juvenile court is said to be for rehabilitation purposes; criminal court is for punishment.”
Zarate turns 18 next week, according to the outlet. His age could play a part in why his case is being moved, as most juvenile detention centers only keep kids until they’re 19.
According to Scott, Zarate could be looking at eight to 12 years in prison without chance for parole for each felony he’s being charged with. “So, he could be facing a lot of time,” Scott added.
“If he’s convicted of these offenses, he would be on the sex offender registry for life,” he continued, per WJHL. “When the case is so serious, there are obviously a lot of times the prosecution will want to take it to criminal court where they can get a longer sentence. They can keep the person in jail for longer.”
Currently, Zarate is not in jail.
According to a report from WXBQ, court records show that the teen is out on bond with certain rules. He can’t have access to any electronic devices or anything with Wi-Fi and he can’t have any contact with his victims or anyone under the age of 17 who is not in his immediate family.
Zarate is also expected to stay home unless he’s accompanied by a parent. He’s due back in court for a status hearing on August 7.
