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Medium reported severity Criminal Charges

Sevilla court: three men convicted of making AI nude images of three former schoolmates from Instagram photos and sharing them; nine months, firm 1 Oct 2026

A judge of the criminal section of the Tribunal de Instancia de Sevilla convicted three men on 1 October 2026, by a conformity agreement, of three offences against moral integrity with the gender aggravating factor. The court found proven that the three, acting with a minor, took photographs from the open Instagram profiles of three young women who had been their schoolmates, manipulated them with an AI application on Telegram to simulate, with great realism, the women's fully naked bodies, and shared the files in a WhatsApp group and a Discord group, after which they spread further; an unidentified person sent the manipulated images of all three to one of the women's Instagram profiles at about 00:30 on 10 September 2023. Each man received nine months in prison, suspended for two years on condition of no new offence, a ban on Telegram, WhatsApp, Instagram and Discord for three years and nine months and a sex-education programme; they paid the moral damages fixed by the court in full. The judiciary's Andalusian communication office published the sentence on 8 October 2026 and described it as the first conviction in Sevilla for this use of AI. The account rests on that official communication and on press reports relaying it; the judgment itself was not inspected.

AI system
Unidentified image tool
Occurred
10 Sept 2023
Reported
8 October 2026
Event location
Unknown
What the AI did
Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Exploitation or Abuse
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Privacy · Everyday life
Evidence
AI involvement supported · Causal attribution established · 4 sources, 1 underlying account
5 claims: 4 documented, 1 reported. 5 open questions
People reported harmed
3 people

AI system as recorded: AI application on Telegram, not named, used according to the court's proven facts to manipulate Instagram photographs of three young women so that the images simulated their fully naked bodies

What Happened

The images. According to the proven facts recorded in the sentence and summarised by the judiciary's communication office, the three convicted men, acting in concert with a minor, decided to obtain images from the Instagram profiles of three young women who had been their schoolmates and whose posts were open to the public. They manipulated those images with an AI application on Telegram to obtain images that simulated, with great realism, the fully naked bodies of the three women. The application is not named. The men shared the files among themselves and with the minor through a WhatsApp group and a Discord group created for that purpose and then spread them further; the court recorded that the reach of the forwarding chains is unknown. At about 00:30 on 10 September 2023 an unidentified person sent the manipulated images of the three women from an Instagram profile to the profile of one of them.

The judgment. On 1 October 2026 the judge of post 15 of the criminal section of the Tribunal de Instancia de Sevilla convicted the three men, after a conformity agreement reached the same day between the Sevilla cybercrime prosecutor, the private prosecution and the defences, of three offences against moral integrity with the gender aggravating factor of article 22.4 of the Penal Code. The judge found that they acted with a clear intent to mock, aware of the risk to the women's dignity, and projected what the sentence calls a supposed male supremacy that objectifies women; this contempt based on gender, the judge wrote, goes beyond the attack on their privacy and dignity. Each man was sentenced to nine months in prison and banned from Telegram, WhatsApp, Instagram and Discord for three years and nine months. The prison terms were suspended for two years because the men have no criminal record, the term is under two years and they paid the civil liability in full; the suspension is conditional on no new offence, on the app ban and on completing a sex-education programme. The court also applied the mitigating factors of repairing the damage (the full amounts fixed for moral damage were deposited) and of confession, noting that the men admitted the facts from their first police statements. The sentence is firm.

What is not reported. The sources do not say where the acts took place, when the images were created, how many people received them beyond the groups, or how the women learned of them beyond the 10 September 2023 message to one of them. The women's ages at the time are not stated. The judgment itself was not inspected; the account rests on the judiciary's official communication of 8 October 2026 and on press reports that relay it (EFE via Público, El Periódico de Aragón citing El Correo de Andalucía, and Moncloa.com).

Reported harm

The court found proven that realistic AI-made nude images of three young women, built from their public Instagram photographs, were shared in WhatsApp and Discord groups, spread further with unknown reach, and sent to one of the women's own Instagram profile on 10 September 2023; the court fixed moral damages, which the convicted men paid in full, and convicted them of offences against the women's moral integrity.

Outcome

Resolved

Sentence of 1 October 2026 by the judge of post 15 of the criminal section of the Tribunal de Instancia de Sevilla, reached by conformity agreement between the Sevilla cybercrime prosecutor, the private prosecution and the defences, and firm (no appeal): nine months in prison for each of the three men for three offences against moral integrity with the gender aggravating factor (art. 22.4 Penal Code), a ban on accessing Telegram, WhatsApp, Instagram and Discord for three years and nine months, suspension of the prison term for two years conditional on committing no offence, keeping the app ban and completing a sex-education programme. The court applied the qualified mitigating factor of repairing the damage (the men paid the full civil liability fixed for moral damage) and the analogous mitigating factor of confession. The minor who took part is mentioned in the proven facts and is not covered by this sentence.

What remains unknown

  • Where the images were made and shared and where the three women live; the sources name only the sentencing court, so the event and affected-person countries are left unknown.
  • When the images were created and how widely they spread; the court recorded that the reach of the forwarding chains is unknown, and the 10 September 2023 message to one woman is the only dated distribution.
  • The AI application used (only described as an AI application on Telegram), the ages of the three women at the time, and how the women experienced the images beyond the moral damages the court fixed.
  • The amounts of civil liability paid and what happened to the minor who took part; the official communication states neither.
  • Whether this is the first such conviction in Spain: the official release says first in Sevilla, and the judgment itself was not inspected.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: supported. The judiciary's Andalusian communication office, publishing the sentence of 1 October 2026, states that the court found proven that the three men manipulated the women's Instagram photographs with an AI application on Telegram to obtain images that simulated, with great realism, their fully naked bodies, and that these files were shared in WhatsApp and Discord groups and sent to one of the women. The AI-generated nude images are the harm itself: they depict the three women (depicted_or_impersonated), their distribution is the conduct the court punished, and the court fixed moral damages for it. The application is not named, the judgment text was not inspected, and the account rests on the official communication and press reports relaying it.

5 claims: 4 documented, 1 reported. What the statuses mean

Documented On 1 October 2026 a judge of the criminal section of the Tribunal de Instancia de Sevilla, by conformity agreement, convicted three men of three offences against moral integrity with the gender aggravating factor and sentenced each to nine months in prison and a ban on Telegram, WhatsApp, Instagram and Discord for three years and nine months; the sentence is firm.

Causal attribution. Directly established by the judiciary's official communication of the sentence; the press reports relay the same communication.

  • poderjudicial.es(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    En una sentencia dictada el día 1 de octubre tras el acuerdo de conformidad alcanzado ese mismo día entre la Fiscalía de Criminalidad Informática de Sevilla, la acusación particular y las defensas, el juez condena a tres varones por tres delitos contra la integridad moral con la agravante de género
  • poderjudicial.es(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    les impone a cada uno de ellos un total de nueve meses de cárcel y la prohibición de acceder a las aplicaciones Telegram, WhatsApp, Instagram y Discord por tiempo total de tres años y nueve meses
  • poderjudicial.es(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    que ya es firme tras el acuerdo entre las partes
  • publico.es(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    Un juez de Sevilla ha condenado a tres hombres a nueve meses de cárcel y a casi cuatro años de prohibición de uso de las aplicaciones Telegram, WhatsApp, Instagram y Discord por desnudar a excompañeras de clase usando la Inteligencia Artificial (IA) y después distribuir las imágenes por Internet
Documented The court found proven that the three men, in concert with a minor, obtained images from the open Instagram profiles of three young women who had been their schoolmates, manipulated them with an AI application on Telegram to simulate with great realism their fully naked bodies, and shared the files in a WhatsApp group and a Discord group, after which they spread further with unknown reach.

Causal attribution. Facts the court declared proven in a conformity sentence, as quoted in the judiciary's official communication; the judgment text itself was not inspected.

  • poderjudicial.es(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    decidieron obtener imágenes de los perfiles de Instagram” de tres jóvenes que habían sido compañeras de colegio y cuyas publicaciones en la red social estaban configuradas como abiertas y accesibles al público en general
  • poderjudicial.es(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    manipular dichas imágenes con una aplicación de IA de Telegram “para obtener imágenes que simulaban, con gran realismo, los cuerpos íntegramente desnudos de las tres jóvenes”
  • poderjudicial.es(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    fueron compartidos entre sí por los tres acusados y el menor de edad a través de la creación de un grupo específico de WhatsApp y de otro de Discord, realizando posteriormente una mayor difusión, más allá de los citados grupos y desconociéndose el alcance de las cadenas de reenvío
  • elperiodicodearagon.com(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    Después usaron una app de IA de Telegram "para obtener imágenes que simulaban, con gran realismo, los cuerpos íntegramente desnudos de las tres jóvenes"
Documented At about 00:30 on 10 September 2023 an unidentified person sent the manipulated nude images of the three women from an Instagram profile to the profile of one of the affected women.

Causal attribution. Proven fact recorded in the sentence as quoted by the official communication and relayed by Moncloa.com.

  • poderjudicial.es(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    enviara sobre las 00,30 horas del día 10 de septiembre de 2023 al perfil de una de las jóvenes afectadas las imágenes manipuladas de las tres mujeres desnudas
  • moncloa.com(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    Una persona no identificada reenvió después las imágenes desde un perfil de Instagram: fue a las 00:30 horas del 10 de septiembre de 2023, al perfil de una de las afectadas
Documented The prison terms were suspended for two years on condition of no new offence, the app ban and a sex-education programme, because the men have no criminal record, the term is under two years and they paid in full the civil liability fixed for moral damage; the court also applied the mitigating factor of confession.

Causal attribution. Terms of the sentence as stated in the judiciary's official communication.

  • poderjudicial.es(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    conceder a los tres encausados el beneficio de la suspensión del cumplimiento de la pena de prisión impuesta con la condición de que no cometan ningún delito en un plazo de dos años, la prohibición de acceder a las cuatro aplicaciones mencionadas durante el plazo de suspensión y la realización de un programa formativo en educación sexual
  • poderjudicial.es(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    han procedido a ingresar en la cuenta de depósitos y consignaciones del órgano judicial la totalidad de las cantidades fijadas en concepto de responsabilidad civil, satisfaciendo de forma completa los importes reclamados en concepto de daño moral
  • poderjudicial.es(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    El magistrado también aplica la atenuante analógica de confesión
Reported The judiciary's Andalusian communication office described the sentence as the first conviction in Sevilla for using an AI application to manipulate images of young women to simulate nudity; one outlet's headline extends this to Spain, which the official release does not say.

Causal attribution. Characterisation by the court system's communication office; the 'first in Spain' headline is Moncloa.com's own and is not supported by the official release.

  • poderjudicial.es(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    ha dictado la primera sentencia condenatoria en Sevilla por el uso de una aplicación de inteligencia artificial (IA) para manipular imágenes de varias jóvenes y obtener, de este modo, imágenes que simulaban los cuerpos íntegramente desnudos de dichas mujeres
  • moncloa.com(opens in new tab) supports · Spanish
    La sentencia, dictada el 1 de octubre y ya firme, es la primera de este tipo en la ciudad por manipulación de imágenes con IA
  • moncloa.com(opens in new tab) context · Spanish
    la primera condena en España por crear desnudos falsos con IA

Sources

4 sources inspected, from 1 underlying account. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Spanish body read and translated by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-09; no human translator or reviewer read the text. Official news release of the Poder Judicial (TSJ Andalucía communication office), dated Thursday 8 October 2026, summarising and quoting the sentence of 1 October 2026; HTTP 200, fetched directly. Applies to s1.

Spanish body read and translated by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-09; no human translator or reviewer read the text. EFE agency report published by Público on 8 October 2026 (AMP page, HTTP 200), citing TSJA sources and a communication; relays the official release. Applies to s2.

Spanish body read and translated by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-09; no human translator or reviewer read the text. El Periódico de Aragón report of 8 October 2026 (HTTP 200), crediting El Correo de Andalucía and the TSJA communication office; relays the official release. Applies to s3.

Spanish body read and translated by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-09; no human translator or reviewer read the text. Moncloa.com report of 8 October 2026 (HTTP 200) citing the resolution published by the CGPJ; its headline calls the sentence the first in Spain while its body says the first in the city, and only the latter matches the official release. Applies to s4.

Event countries: Unknown. Affected-person countries: Unknown. Court countries: Spain.

The sentencing court is the Tribunal de Instancia de Sevilla, Spain (official communication, all press reports). No source says where the images were made or shared or where the three women live, so the event and affected-person countries are left unknown rather than inferred from the court's seat.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-09: Published as a core case on the judiciary's official communication of a firm criminal sentence: a Sevilla court found proven that three men manipulated public Instagram photographs of three former schoolmates with an AI application on Telegram into realistic nude images, shared them in WhatsApp and Discord groups, and that the images were sent to one of the women on 10 September 2023; each man was sentenced to nine months (suspended) and banned from four apps. The convicted men, the minor and the three women are unnamed in every source and in this record. The judgment text was not inspected and the event location is left unknown.

People described

Three young women, former schoolmates of the convicted men, whose public Instagram photographs were manipulated with an AI application into realistic nude images that were shared in WhatsApp and Discord groups and sent to one of them; not named, ages not stated

People reported harmed in this case

3 people

0 AI participants · 3 other people harmed

Three depicted women: the official communication speaks of three young women who had been schoolmates of the accused and of three offences against moral integrity, one per woman. The men used the tool against others, so participant_users_affected_min is 0. Recipients of the images are not counted.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#deepfake#non_consensual_intimate_imagery#telegram#instagram#discord#criminal_conviction#spain#court_ruling

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Sevilla court: three men convicted of making AI nude images of three former schoolmates from Instagram photos and sharing them; nine months, firm 1 Oct 2026. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2023-sevilla-court-conviction-ai-nude-images-three-former-schoolmates-instagram-telegram-app

BibTeX

@misc{2023_sevilla_court_conviction_ai_nude_images_three_former_schoolmates_instagram_telegram_app,
  title = {Sevilla court: three men convicted of making AI nude images of three former schoolmates from Instagram photos and sharing them; nine months, firm 1 Oct 2026},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2023-sevilla-court-conviction-ai-nude-images-three-former-schoolmates-instagram-telegram-app}
}

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