A woman from Florida has confessed to fabricating a sexual assault report using an AI-generated image of a homeless person.

Brooke Schinault, aged 32, entered a plea of no contest this week after she reported to police in October that a man had broken into her St. Petersburg home and assaulted her, as per court documents reviewed by the Daily Mail.

When officers arrived at her residence, they found no physical evidence of the alleged crime. Schinault then provided them with a picture of the supposed assailant.

Authorities later determined that the image shown was created using AI technology, specifically through ChatGPT, according to the charging documents.

The investigation revealed that the image was located in a deleted folder and had been generated days before the alleged incident occurred.

Crime outlet The Smoking Gun has since obtained the image which shows a man wearing a dirty jacket and a hoodie while up sitting on a couch in her home. 

When questioned, Schinault insisted she was telling the truth, claiming she used AI to only enhance the image but couldn’t hand over the original picture. 

When taken into custody she admitted to making the picture, adding that she was struggling with depression and ‘wanted attention’.

Brooke Schinault, seen here, pleaded no contest this week after calling the police to her home in October claiming a man broke into her address and sexually assaulted her

Crime outlet The Smoking Gun has since obtained the image, seen above, which shows a man wearing a dirty jacket and a hood up sitting on a couch in her home

A detective in the case wrote in a supplemental police report that they recognized the image as being part of a viral TikTok challenge. 

As part of the challenge, individuals generate AI pictures of vagrants inside their homes before sending it to family members to prank them. 

The officer said: ‘As I am familiar with many social media sites and trends, I recognized the male as a TikTok challenge that is viral. 

‘The challenge is called ‘AI homeless man challenge’. In this challenge people are[sic] capture a photo of an area of their home. They then upload the photo to an AI. 

‘With the photo submitted, they ask AI to inset a homeless man in a pose of their choosing 

‘I went through several TikTok reels of this challenge and found [photos of] the same man the female claimed she took.’ 

That same supplemental police report also noted that Schinault has a boyfriend named Daniel who spoke with the same detective one day during the investigation. 

On Monday she pleaded no contest for falsely reporting a crime and was placed on probation, she was also ordered to pay a fine.  

When taken into custody she admitted to making the picture, adding that she was struggling with depression and ‘wanted attention’

A detective in the case wrote in a supplemental police report that they recognized the image as being part of a viral TikTok challenge

The viral prank has led to false 911 calls over the country, with police departments warning not to join in with the trend. 

Last month Yonkers Police Department, in New York, put out a public service announcement titled ‘The ‘AI Homeless Man’ Prank isn’t funny – it’s dangerous’.

They said: ‘Here’s the problem: officers are responding FAST using lights-and-sirens to what sounds like a call of a real intruder – and only getting called off once everyone realizes it was a joke. 

‘That’s not just a waste of resources it’s a real safety risk for officers who are responding and for the family members who are home if our officers get there before the prank is revealed and rush into the home to apprehend this ‘intruder’ that doesn’t exist.

‘It’s happened here in Yonkers a few times, so we’re trying to get ahead of this before someone gets hurt.’

The department pleaded with parents to talk to their kids about misusing AI and asked anyone who may get hit with the prank to pause and ask questions before calling 911.

‘If your child ever pulls this prank, remind them this isn’t harmless fun – it’s a potentially dangerous situation that could have serious consequences’, they said.