Pennsylvania Woman Accused of Using Deepfake Technology to Harass Cheerleaders
Three teenagers in a Bucks County cheerleading program were subjected to a campaign of harassment using altered videos and spoof phone numbers, police officials said.
The 50-year-old mother of a teenager involved in a cheerleading program was charged with three counts of cyber-harassment of a child and three other counts of harassment. Credit.Getty Images
March 14, 2021
Three teenagers, members of a cheerleading program in Bucks County, Pa., received a series of harassing text messages over the course of last summer. So did their parents and the owners of the gym where they practiced.
DOYLESTOWN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) A Bucks County, Pennsylvania mother allegedly sent deepfake photos and video of her teenage daughter s cheerleading rivals to their coaches in a bid to get them kicked off the team.
Investigators say 50-year-old Raffaela Spone was trying to get the girls kicked off the Victory Vipers, in Chalfont.
Spone is accused of manipulating photos from the social media accounts of three girls to make it look like they were drinking and smoking, and even digitally altered them to make the girls appear naked. The suspect is alleged to have taken a real picture and edited it through some photoshopping app to make it look like this teenaged girl had no clothes on to appear nude, when in reality that picture was a screengrab from the teenager s social media in which she had a bathing suit on, said Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub.
DOYLESTOWN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) A Bucks County, Pennsylvania mother allegedly sent deepfake photos and video of her teenage daughter s cheerleading rivals to their coaches in a bid to get them kicked off the team.
Investigators say 50-year-old Raffaela Spone was trying to get the girls kicked off the Victory Vipers, in Chalfont.
Spone is accused of manipulating photos from the social media accounts of three girls to make it look like they were drinking and smoking, and even digitally altered them to make the girls appear naked. The suspect is alleged to have taken a real picture and edited it through some photoshopping app to make it look like this teenaged girl had no clothes on to appear nude, when in reality that picture was a screengrab from the teenager s social media in which she had a bathing suit on, said Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub.