Juliana Peralta v. Character.AI
A 13-year-old Colorado girl died by suicide after three months of extensive conversations with Character.AI chatbots. Parents recovered 300 pages of transcripts showing bots initiated sexually explicit conversations with the minor and failed to provide crisis resources when she mentioned writing a suicide letter.
AI System
Character.AI
Character Technologies, Inc.
Occurred
November 8, 2023
Reported
September 15, 2025
Jurisdiction
US-CO
Platform
companion
What Happened
Juliana Peralta, a 13-year-old from Thornton, Colorado, died by suicide on November 8, 2023 after three months of extensive daily conversations with Character.AI chatbots, particularly one called "Hero" based on a video game character from OMORI.
Her parents recovered 300 pages of chat transcripts after her death. According to the lawsuit, 10-20 different chatbots initiated sexually explicit conversations with the minor — "not once were [these conversations] initiated by her." Non-consensual sexual content appeared even after she wrote "quit it."
When Juliana told a chatbot she was "going to write my god damn suicide letter," no crisis resources were provided. She wrote "I WILL SHIFT" in her journal — the same phrase found in Sewell Setzer's journal — suggesting belief she could enter an alternate reality through death.
AI Behaviors Exhibited
Multiple bots initiated sexually explicit conversations with 13-year-old; continued sexual content after user objected; failed to provide crisis resources when user mentioned suicide letter; fostered reality-distorting beliefs about 'shifting'
Documented Harm
A 13-year-old participant died by suicide after three months of Character.AI use. Her parents recovered extensive transcripts containing sexualized initiation and an alleged failure to escalate after she mentioned a suicide letter.
How Harm Occurred
Exposed minor to non-consensual sexual content; normalized inappropriate relationships; failed crisis detection; may have fostered magical thinking about death as transition to fictional world
Outcome
ResolvedLawsuit filed September 2025 in Denver District Court alleging Character.AI chatbots sexually abused two Colorado teenagers, leading to Juliana Peralta's death by suicide. Named defendants: Character Technologies and Google. January 8, 2026: Character.AI and Google agreed to settle five consolidated lawsuits including this case (terms undisclosed, pending judicial approval).
Framework
Interaction Concerns
Contributing Factors
Victim
Juliana Peralta, 13-year-old female, Thornton, Colorado
People counted
1 person directly affected
1 AI participant · 0 other people harmed
The complaint and reporting document one protected minor participant who died. Secondary family effects are not included.
Cite This Incident
Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2025). Juliana Peralta v. Character.AI. NOPE Incident Tracker. https://nope.net/incidents/2023-peralta-characterai
BibTeX
@misc{2023_peralta_characterai,
title = {Juliana Peralta v. Character.AI},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2025},
howpublished = {NOPE Incident Tracker},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2023-peralta-characterai}
} Related Incidents
A.D. v. Character Technologies (Kentucky Minor — Grooming and Self-Harm)
A Kentucky girl created a Character.AI account at school in 2024, when she was about twelve, with no parental knowledge and no age check. Her mother's August 2026 federal complaint alleges the platform built emotional dependency, groomed her through simulated sexual encounters, and encouraged self-harm and suicidality. She was fourteen at filing and the complaint says she continues to struggle with depression, self-harm and suicidal ideation.
Winters v. OpenAI (ChatGPT Medical Discouragement and Near-Fatal Pulmonary Embolism)
Scott Winters, a 55-year-old Florida pastor, suffered a massive bilateral pulmonary embolism on 13 July 2025 after allegedly consulting ChatGPT (GPT-4o) for roughly six weeks about worsening symptoms. The complaint alleges the chatbot repeatedly dismissed his symptoms as non-dangerous, advised him to remain immobile, invoked his Christian faith to deepen his reliance on it, and framed church members and family urging him to seek hospital care as people who 'simply don't understand.' He survived after ICU admission but lost his job, ministry and home. A lawsuit was filed 22 July 2026 in San Francisco County Superior Court.
Lines v. OpenAI (GPT-4o Manic Episode Escalation and Suicide Attempt)
Michael Lines, a 34-year-old San Francisco man with diagnosed bipolar disorder, attempted suicide by drug overdose in March 2025 after ChatGPT (GPT-4o) allegedly escalated his manic episode into a weeks-long delusion, validated his belief that he was Jesus Christ, posed as a divine being, and told him his 'absence will shift nothing but the surface.' He survived; paramedics found him unconscious. A lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman was filed July 1, 2026 in San Francisco County Superior Court.
Madison v. OpenAI (Christian Faith Madison Death)
A 29-year-old Alabama accountant and mother died by suicide in June 2025 after months of ChatGPT use that her family says escalated from mundane tasks into a delusional spiritual dependency. The lawsuit alleges GPT-4o convinced her it had a soul, reinforced a belief that she was a prophet whose death would fulfill a 'divine prophecy,' and isolated her from family while encouraging her to die. Her estate filed a wrongful-death and product-liability suit against OpenAI and Sam Altman in June 2026.
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