A Gilford motorcyclist may be the first in New Hampshire to be prosecuted under a new law making creation of “deepfakes” a crime.

Jaxen Cole, 21, was indicted on Sept. 19, on two felony charges of fraudulent use of deepfakes, a crime created by the state Legislature which went into effect on Jan. 1.

Cole, according to the indictments, is accused of creating, distributing and presenting an audio likeness of Laconia Police Officer John Skehan on Feb. 14, 2025, which constituted a deepfake.

He waived his first appearance in Superior Court, and pleaded not guilty to both charges, according to a court document filed on Oct. 3.

Cole allegedly posted a video to his Instagram and Facebook accounts which contained video from Skehan’s body camera, in which the officer’s voice was digitally manip

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