Govini founder Eric Gillespie urged a person who he believed to be a dad offering his 10-year-old daughter to be sexually abused to use encrypted chat platforms, a Pennsylvania criminal complaint alleges.
“Signal is safer for er small talk,” Gillespie wrote to the purported father, who was actually an undercover law-enforcement agent, according to a transcript of a chat included in the criminal complaint obtained by CNBC.
Gillespie then wrote that Session, another commonly used end-to-end encrypted platform, is “fine but less secure” than Signal, the filing says.
While chatting in Session, he sent the agent multiple photos of a “recent playmate” wearing a diaper and made repeated graphic references to sex acts with children, court documents state.
Gillespie also wrote that he preferred young children: “best when they can’t talk.”
The charging documents note that users can delete media and messages sent in Session, and because of that, the agent could not get screenshots of media files sent by Gillespie.
The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General said that the chat with the agent began in an online forum often used by people attempting to arrange meetings with children.
The men then moved their discussion to Session, according to the AG’s office, which last week said it had arrested and charged Gillespie with four felony counts, including unlawful sexual contact with a minor.
He is being held without bond.
His arrest came at a pivotal time for Govini, a defense contractor that is a key player in the U.S. military’s push to modernize.
Gillespie’s lawyer, David Shrager of Shrager Defense Attorneys, told CNBC that he “vigorously denies these charges.”
“In this case, two adults were lying to each other in an internet fantasy chat, where at least one of the participants was using AI,” Shrager said.
The criminal complaint notes that at one point in the conversation, the agent sent “A photo media file of an undercover female Agent age regressed with AI technology to appear approximately 10 years of age.”
That is the only mention of the use of artificial intelligence in the complaint.
“It’s easy to understand why people rush to judgment when they hear about these types of charges,” Shrager told CNBC.
The attorney said that he believes Gillespie 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 last week called Gillespie a “depraved individual” in a statement announcing his termination as executive chairman of the company’s board of directors.
Govini said that Gillespie “has no role with the company and is not a majority shareholder.”
“Since being terminated, he will not receive a paycheck,” the company said.
The company did not disclose the current level of Gillespie’s stake in Govini.
Earlier this year, Govini landed a nearly $1 billion contract with the Department of Defense and joined the U.S. Army’s Next Generation Command Control program.
In October, Govini announced a $150 million investment from Bain Capital.
Bain declined to comment on Gillespie’s arrest.
Gillespie was quoted prominently in a news release about Bain’s investment.
“I founded Govini to create an entirely new category of software built to transform how the U.S. government uses AI and data to make decisions,” Gillespie said at the time. “After methodically developing our proprietary technology, that vision is now a reality.”
Accel and Salesforce Ventures are also major investors in Govini. Neither company has responded to requests for comment.
Multiple people familiar with Govini, and who had personal contact with Gillespie, said that he had an active role at the company. Documents and text messages reviewed by CNBC support that claim.
One person, who asked not to be named in order to discuss internal communication, described Gillespie as the point man for key financial dealings.
In a statement responding to questions about his day-to-day involvement at the company, Govini said, “Mr. Gillespie had opinions and ideas and did not hesitate to share them.”
“In his capacity as Executive Chairman, he was aware of and consulted on the operations of the leadership team,” the company said.
Pentagon officials last week said that they are looking into Gillespie’s arrest and possible security issues.
CNBC asked the department if it is looking at possible actions related to the company’s status as a government contractor.
“While the Department cannot comment on individual security clearances in accordance with the Privacy Act, we take these allegations very seriously,” a senior Pentagon official said in a statement.
