A 39-year-old Alberta girls’ football coach pleaded guilty to making, printing or publishing pornography and possessing child pornography, with sentencing set to be scheduled again on Nov. 6.
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A girls’ football coach from Alberta who used artificial intelligence to create sexualized images of players has pleaded guilty, following charges that included child pornography and transmitting an intimate image without consent.
At sentencing in Lethbridge, one of the victims delivered a statement, saying, “It was my face; it was my name. It was me,” and describing the “humiliation,” “fear” and “betrayal” caused by the images.
The court heard that the coach, 39-year-old Justin Tillery, was originally charged in 2025 with making, distributing, possessing and accessing child pornography, as well as transmitting an intimate image without consent. He later pleaded guilty to making, printing or publishing pornography and possessing child pornography.
According to special prosecutor Tara Hayes, Tillery and a longtime friend shared the images and exchanged lewd comments, including a text message in which Tillery wrote, “We are going to hell with gasoline boots on for sure.”
Hayes urged the judge to impose a sentence of two years in prison and three years’ probation, while Tillery’s lawyer, Scott Hadford, asked the court to consider a sentence served in the community, noting Tillery has no criminal record and entered the guilty plea.
In court, Hadford said, “At the end of the day, there's still a difference in the making of child pornography when it's AI versus when it's real.”
The matter will return to court on Nov. 6 to choose a date for sentencing.
The hearing also included testimony from an expert on online harm, who said deepfake pornography is becoming more common because of the ease and sophistication of current technology, and that impacts can be psychologically real even when the images are fake.
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