Students have filed a lawsuit against Pepsi after its workers allegedly took photos of them and used AI to turn images into child pornography.
According to a report by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, at least eight female students were allegedly targeted by Ronald Richardson, a Pepsi vendor with access to Gilmer County schools in Georgia.
As part of his job, Richardson was issued a badge and access card, allowing him to enter the county’s middle and high schools to restock vending machines with Pepsi products.
He is accused of secretly taking photos and videos of female students, aged 12 to 17, without their consent.
On Friday, the parents of eight victims filed a lawsuit against Richardson, Pepsi Beverage Co., and Pepsi-Cola Sales and Distribution on behalf of their minor children.
The lawsuit states that in September, while Richardson was restocking a vending machine at Gilmer High School, students passing by — including one of the plaintiffs — noticed him taking photos of them.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the incident was reported to a coach and the school’s vice principal. High school officials urged Pepsi to investigate and remove Richardson from servicing the school.
According to the lawsuit, the Pepsi defendants conducted an investigation but later reinstated Richardson to the same route, including the school, because the company was “having difficulty finding other drivers in the area.”
Richardson was later arrested on January 17 on multiple counts of sexual exploitation and thousands of photographs of female students were allegedly found on his cellphone and iPad during the investigation.
“An investigation of Richardson’s predatory behavior was conducted, which discovered that Defendant Richardson had thousands of photographs of minor females from both the Middle and High School on his cell phone and iPad, including photographs of Plaintiffs Jaime Does 1-8, many of which were sexually explicit child sexual abuse material (“CSAM”),” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit accuses Pepsi Beverage Co. and its distributor of failing to protect students from Richardson even after they complained that he was taking photos and videos of them in school without their consent.
The lawsuit says that Richardson’s actions “caused fear, mental suffering, shame, and humiliation and sustained damages” to the victims.
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Pepsi could not be reached for comment. But last month, the company stated that Richardson “is no longer employed by PepsiCo.”
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
