TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Sabrina Javellana is now 26, but when she was in high school in 2015, she posted a selfie on social media.

Years later, to her surprise, the same photo circulated online, but with the help of artificial intelligence, with her clothing removed.

“Every time I saw a naked photo of myself, I felt like I wasn’t even living in my own body,” Javellana said.

Javellana was victimized again in 2021 when she was alerted to nude photos of herself being shared in the darkest places of the internet.

“It took a huge toll on my mental health,” she said. “I felt like I had no control over my own body — the same feeling I had when I was sexually assaulted in college, except this was a very different version.”

Below the photos were intense and often sexually suggestive comments.

“It seems very clear that they knew who I was, the things I was advocating for,” she said. “They found out about me from other news outlets, about my advocacy for the environment in Tallahassee, for criminal justice.”

Javellana is no stranger to threats. At 21, she was sworn in as a city commissioner in Hallandale Beach, eventually rising to vice mayor of the Broward County city.

“Federal law has not kept pace with cybercrime and the growth of technology and AI as it rapidly changes and is used for dangerous purposes,” Javellana said. “So in 2022, Senator Lauren Book passed a bill that Governor DeSantis signed into law.”

Javellana worked with Book to strengthen Florida’s revenge porn law, making it a crime to buy, sell, or trade stolen sexually explicit images, and to distribute edited or created sexually explicit images.

“But most of these people are anonymous, so you can’t track them down. They could be in another country. Plus, we don’t have recourse for defamation in Florida,” Javellana said.

Micah McCombs is the assistant special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Tampa. He said AI generative porn is no different than the real images. He said both are illegal and suspects will be charged.

“No stone has been left unturned to find these individuals who are engaged in these crimes,” McCombs said. “I send people all over the world every month.”

Javellana has no idea who continues to create so-called deepfakes using photos of her from public pages or her own social media.

“There are pictures of me on the internet that I will never be able to find,” she said. “I felt very paranoid and scared.”

In response to these technological concerns, Homeland Security Investigations launched a campaign called “Know2Protect” and was launched in an effort to prevent and combat online child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA). The site offers a variety of resources for parents and teachers, including reporting tools for victims.

To file a report, you can:

• Contact your local, state, or tribal law enforcement officials directly. Call 911 for emergencies.
• Call the Know2Protect tip line at 833-591-KNOW (5669). All information received through the Tipline is reviewed by appropriate personnel and forwarded to Homeland Security Investigations field offices for possible investigation.
• File a CyberTipline report with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.