Govini founder Eric Gillespie alleged child sex chats revealed
A criminal complaint in Pennsylvania alleges that Govini founder Eric Gillespie used encrypted chat platforms to urge a person he believed to be the father who offered to sexually abuse his 10-year-old daughter.
“Signal is safer for small talk,” Gillespie wrote to the alleged father, who was actually an undercover law enforcement agent, according to the transcript of a conversation included in the criminal complaint obtained by CNBC.
Gillespie later wrote that Session, another widely used end-to-end encrypted platform, was “good but less secure” than Signal.
While chatting with Session, he sent the agent multiple photos of his “new playmate” wearing a diaper and made repeated graphic references to sexual acts with children, according to court documents.
Gillespie also wrote that he preferred young children: “They are best when they can’t talk.”
The charging documents state that users can delete media and messages sent in Session, and therefore the representative cannot take screenshots of media files sent by Gillepsie.
Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office He said the conversation with the representative began on an online forum often used by people trying to arrange meetings with children.
The men then took their arguments to Session, according to the AG’s office; The office said it arrested Gillespie last week and charged him with four felonies, including unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.
He is being held without bail.
His arrest comes at a crucial time for Govini, a defense contractor who has played a key role in the US military’s modernization drive.
Gillespie’s lawyer David Shrager One of Shrager’s Defense Lawyers told CNBC that he “strongly denies these accusations.”
“In this case, two adults were lying to each other in an internet fantasy chat where at least one of the participants used artificial intelligence,” Shrager said.
The criminal complaint states that at one point during the conversation, the agent sent “a photo media file in which the age of an undercover female Agent was regressed using artificial intelligence technology to appear approximately 10 years old.”
This is the only statement in the complaint that artificial intelligence was used.
“It’s easy to understand why people rush to judgment when they hear such accusations,” Shrager told CNBC.
The attorney said he believes Gillepsie will be exonerated.
Gillespie is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on Thursday before Magisterial District Judge John Ditzler in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania.
Govini described Gillespie as an “immoral individual” in his statement last week. dissolution as executive chairman of the company’s board of directors.
Govini said Gillepsie “has no role in the company and is not the majority shareholder.”
“He will not be receiving a paycheck since his termination,” the company said.
The company did not disclose the current level of Gillespie’s stake in Govini.
Earlier this year, Govini signed a nearly $1 billion contract with the company. Department of Defense and joined the US Army New Generation Command and Control program.
In October, Govini announced a $150 million investment. Bain Capital.
Bain declined to comment on Gillespie’s arrest.
Gillespie was prominently quoted in a news release about Bain’s investment.
“I founded Govini to create an entirely new category of software built to transform the way the U.S. government uses AI and data to make decisions,” Gillespie said at the time. “After methodically developing our proprietary technology, this vision has now become a reality.”
Accel and Salesforce Ventures are also major investors in Govini. Neither company responded to requests for comment.
Multiple people who knew Govini and had personal contact with Gillespie said he had an active role at the company. Documents and text messages reviewed by CNBC support this claim.
A person who requested anonymity to discuss internal communications described Gillespie as being in charge of key financial affairs.
“Mr. Gillespie had views and opinions and did not hesitate to share them,” Govini said in a statement responding to questions about his daily activities at the company. he said.
“In his capacity as Chairman of the Board, he was aware of and advised on the operations of the leadership team,” the company said.
Pentagon officials said last week they were investigating Gillespie’s arrest and possible security issues.
CNBC asked the ministry whether it was looking into possible actions regarding the company’s status as a government contractor.
“While the Department cannot comment on individual security clearances under the Privacy Act, we take these allegations very seriously,” a senior Pentagon official said in a statement.
