A North Carolina man who spent part of his career teaching at a Christian school has been arrested for using artificial intelligence to create sexually explicit images of children, Us Weekly has learned.
Richard Lynn Upright is accused of being downright despicable by the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators opened an investigation into Upright, 56, in December after Google flagged a Drive account linked to him and reported it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. That tip concerning sexual exploitation of minors was passed on to police, according to a statement.
In time, they tracked the IP address to Upright’s home. He was fired from his job as a teacher at Vandalia Christian School in Greensboro after he was arrested.
During a court hearing on Monday, March 2, a detective testified that Upright was arrested after a search warrant was executed at the school on February 27.
Investigators allegedly found 111 explicit images on Upright’s devices and discovered they were created using artificial intelligence or photo-editing software to place children’s faces into sexual images. It was unclear how many children were victimized by Upright.
Sheriff Danny H. Rogers said in a statement the disgraced educator faces 10 counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.
The investigation is ongoing and police urge anyone with information related to this investigation to contact Detective S. Miller at (336) 641-3451 or Guilford County Crime Stoppers at (336) 373-1000.
Plea information was unavailable. His public defender could not be reached for comment.
During Monday’s hearing, a parent of two students — one currently in Upright’s class, one who had him as a teacher six years ago — spoke to the judge and asked that the teacher be held, reported WFMY. He described one daughter’s fear of adult men, her reluctance to attend a dance competition and her difficulty navigating the school day without a parent present.
“Not being able to protect my child from that and being able to see this,” the father said, “is trying.”
In a statement, the Vandalia Christian School said it was working with police. “As a ministry that serves both families and children, we are grieved by this situation,” reads the statement.
“Vandalia Christian School is wholly committed to the safety, care, and protection of every child entrusted to us. We share in your sorrow and concern, and our hearts are burdened alongside yours.” The statement also urged people to turn to their faith.
“In moments like these, we are reminded of our call to respond with both truth and compassion,” said the statement. “We ask you to join us in earnest prayer — especially for the victims and their families — that they may experience God’s comfort, healing and peace.”
Parents, teachers, and guardians interested in learning more about protecting children from exploitation can find useful tools and information at Know2Protect.
If you know of a young person who is being exploited or are the victim of a crime, you are urged to report it to your local FBI field office by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI. Tips can also be left at tips.fbi.gov
