Marion County Prosecutor's Office investigating alleged pornographic deepfake of lawmaker's wife

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Marion County Prosecutor's Office is investigating an alleged incident surrounding Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith's office.




State Rep. Craig Haggard (R-Indianapolis) said he learned last week that a staffer in the Lt. Governor's Office had allegedly created and shown a pornographic deepfake video of his wife to other staffers. 




As first reported by 24sight News, the alleged deepfake video was modified from an existing video of Haggard's wife singing at a talent show for charity earlier this year. While Haggard acknowledged he has not seen any such video, he wants those responsible to be held accountable should the video exist.




"I know we need to get to the bottom of it," Haggard said. "If true, this is a very, very serious allegation. I mean, it's a federal crime."




The Marion County Prosecutor's Office said it can neither confirm nor deny whether it is investigating the incident.




"Sometimes, as they work through that investigatory process, there's a number of things that individuals need to look into, and so, for us, we really can't say anything publicly until we're in a position to make a charging decision or make a charging announcement," Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said.




In a statement, a spokesperson for the Indiana Governor's Office said:




"The Governor's office does not have authority over the Lieutenant Governor's human resources matters, nor over those of any elected official."




"If it were in my office, there would be quick getting to the bottom of it and full accountability, and I would expect that would be the case there," Gov. Mike Braun said. "Get to the bottom of it, do it with full transparency, [and] if someone outside gets involved like the prosecutor's office, hopefully they would do it with the right motive behind it."




Haggard said he's calling for an independent investigation into the alleged incident, and is disappointed in how state leaders have responded so far.




"If it was made up, it's horrible; if it happened, it's even worse," Haggard said. "At a minimum, you still look into it, you still look into all allegations, but to just dismiss it, I think, is almost as bad as the incident itself, because to me, what you're saying is that you don't care. You care more about political fallout than you do about protecting women, and I think that's just wrong."




Haggard also said he had tried going to Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R-Martinsville) for answers, but didn't get very far. 




"I tried to speak with the head of the Senate, and was basically told that he could care less and don't drag him into this," Haggard said. "At a minimum, I would think if somebody brings you something especially as serious as this that you might have a little bit of compassion, and say, you know, 'I don't know if it's true, maybe it is made up, I apologize that your wife has to go through this,'" Haggard said.




Bray vehemently denied that claim and said he has no control over any of the Lt. Governor's employees.




"I did not say I don't care about it this," Bray said. "Nobody should have to go through this and it's awful."




Haggard said he also talked with Lt. Governor Beckwith about the alleged incident, and that Beckwith told him he didn't believe the allegations are true.




"If it's true, I hope that the individual responsible for this is prosecuted," Haggard said. "If true, they should be prosecuted and punished to the fullest extent of the law to show that we do not tolerate this kind of behavior."




FOX59/CBS4 reached out to the Lt. Governor's Office multiple times for comment before airing this story. As of this article's publication, FOX59/CBS4 has yet to receive an official statement.



via: https://fox59.com/news/marion-county-prosecutors-office-investigating-alleged-pornographic-deepfake-of-lawmakers-wife/