MIDDLEBURG, Fla. — A Middleburg man is facing 10 counts of knowingly possessing and intentionally viewing child sexual abuse material.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested 39-year-old Tracy Dean Burke on Thursday at his home.
According to CCSO, the SWAT team served a search warrant at a residence on Orchid Ave in Middleburg. Detectives started their investigation after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
A news release from CCSO reveals that computer-generated child sexual abuse material — or CSAM — was also found during the investigation. Detectives say that this discovery is not included in the charges.
Detective of Clay County’s Internet Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking Unit Ryan Ellis says Northeast Florida has seen multiple cases involving AI-generated CSAM.
Data from NCMEC shows that between 2023 and 2024, their Cyber Tipline received more than 67,000 reports of AI-generated CSAM, a 1,325% increase. The following year, those reports rose to 440,419 — a 6,345% increase.
“That is just what we know of,” Ellis said.
Lauren Coffren, the executive director of NCMEC’s Exploited Children Division, says that the organization is seeing reports of this material on all of the major social media platforms.
“We are really seeing this across the board,” Coffren said. “You know, any company that’s associated with generative AI is affected by this.”
Coffren says that oftentimes, new technology is put out in a rushed market. She says that’s when the organization sees that tech platforms have built an interface without safety by design.
“Until we can get to a place where safety is considered first and foremost, unfortunately, we know that it starts to get worse before we’ll ever get better,” Coffren said.
Detectives say that this is still an ongoing investigation. Burke is in custody at the Clay County Jail with a bond set at $857,545. His court date is scheduled for May 19.
The sheriff’s office encourages anyone with information that might help with the investigation to contact Detective Lance Parker at lparker@claysheriff.com or by phone at 904-264-6512. You can also remain anonymous by calling First Coast Crime Stoppers by dialing **TIPS or by submitting a tip through the SaferWatch app.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children can be contacted by phone at 1-800-843-5678.
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