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High reported severity Involving minors Internal Action

Beverly Hills, California: school district says middle school pupils made AI nude images of 16 classmates and expels five

In February 2024 the Beverly Hills Unified School District told parents that officials at one of its middle schools had been made aware of AI-generated nude photos of students, which the superintendent said put students' faces on nude bodies, and a city official said police were investigating pupils whom authorities said used AI tools to create and share the images. In March 2024 the district confirmed the expulsion of five eighth-grade pupils; the superintendent said 16 students were targeted. Students and parents told NBC News they were afraid to go to school. The district did not say how it determined that AI was used.

AI system
Unidentified image tool
Occurred
Event date unknown
Reported
27 February 2024
Event location
United States
What the AI did
Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Exploitation or AbusePsychological Distress
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Education
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 3 sources
4 claims: 4 reported. 3 open questions
People reported harmed
16 people

AI system as recorded: Generative AI tools used to put classmates' faces on nude bodies, according to the school district and a city official (tools not identified)

What Happened

What the district and city said. In a letter to parents reported by NBC News on 27 February 2024, the Beverly Hills Unified School District superintendent said school officials had been made aware of AI-generated nude photos of students the week before, and told NBC News that the photos put students' faces on nude bodies. A Beverly Hills deputy city manager wrote to parents the next day that police were investigating pupils who authorities said used artificial intelligence tools to create the images and share them with other students. The district did not say how it determined that the photos were made with AI.

The response. The superintendent said the pupils responsible had been removed from the school pending the district's investigation. In March 2024 the school board confirmed the expulsion of five eighth-grade pupils, and the superintendent said in an email to the district community that 16 students were targeted. Police had opened a criminal investigation; NBC News reported that no arrests had been made and no charges brought.

Effect on pupils. Students and parents told NBC News they were afraid to go to school or send their children to school after the incident. One student told NBC Los Angeles that people could not feel safe coming to school.

Reported harm

According to the school district, pupils used AI to put 16 classmates' faces on nude images that were shared among students; students and parents told NBC News they were afraid to go to school.

Outcome

Unknown

The school board confirmed the expulsion of five pupils in March 2024; the pupils and their parents did not contest it, according to the Los Angeles Times as cited by NBC News. Beverly Hills police opened an investigation; as of March 2024 no arrests had been made and no charges brought.

What remains unknown

  • Which AI tools were used and how the district determined the images were AI-made.
  • When the images were made and first shared; the district learned of them in February 2024.
  • Whether the police investigation led to any charge after March 2024.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The Beverly Hills Unified School District, which investigated and expelled five pupils, described the images as AI-generated nude photos that put students' faces on nude bodies, and a city official said authorities consider that pupils used artificial intelligence tools to create and share them (NBC News, February and March 2024). The images depict the 16 targeted pupils (depicted_or_impersonated). The district did not say how it determined that AI was used, and no tool is named.

4 claims: 4 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported The superintendent told parents that school officials had been made aware of AI-generated nude photos of students the previous week and told NBC News the photos included students' faces superimposed onto nude bodies; the district did not say how it determined the photos were produced with AI.

Causal attribution. The district attributes the images to AI without disclosing its basis.

  • nbcnews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'were made aware of the “AI-generated nude photos” of students last week, the district superintendent said in a letter to parents. The superintendent told NBC News the photos included students’ faces superimposed onto nude bodies. The district did not share how it determined the photos were produced with artificial intelligence.'
Reported A Beverly Hills deputy city manager said police were investigating pupils who authorities said used artificial intelligence tools to create the images and share them with other students.

Causal attribution. City official's statement attributing the images to AI use by pupils.

  • nbcnews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'who authorities say used artificial intelligence tools to create the images and share them with other students.'
Reported The school board confirmed the expulsion of five eighth-grade pupils in March 2024; the superintendent said 16 students were targeted, and as of that report no arrests had been made and no charges brought.

Causal attribution. Disciplinary outcome and count as stated by the district.

  • nbcnews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The Beverly Hills Unified School District voted this week to confirm the expulsion of five middle school students' and 'The five students and their victims were in the eighth grade, according to the school district. Sixteen students were targeted,' and 'No arrests have been made and no charges have been brought.'
Reported Students and parents told NBC News they were afraid to go to school or send their children to school after the incident.

Causal attribution. Reported distress following the circulation of the images.

  • nbcnews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Students and parents told NBC News they were afraid to go to school or send their children to school after the incident,'

Sources

3 sources inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read in English on 2026-10-22 (HTTP 200). Published 27 February 2024; reports the superintendent letter and a police lieutenant. Applies to s1.

Read in English on 2026-10-22 (HTTP 200). Published 28 February 2024; reports a deputy city manager's letter to parents. Applies to s2.

Read in English on 2026-10-22 (HTTP 200). Published 8 March 2024; reports the board decision via the Los Angeles Times and minutes, and the superintendent email. Applies to s3.

Event countries: United States. Affected-person countries: United States. Court countries: Unknown.

Event: a middle school in the Beverly Hills Unified School District, Beverly Hills, California, with Beverly Hills police investigating (NBC News). No court proceeding is reported.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-22: Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): the school district that investigated and expelled five pupils describes AI-generated nude images of 16 classmates, and a city official says authorities consider that pupils used AI tools to make and share them. The district's technical basis is not disclosed. No pupil is named.

People described

Sixteen eighth-grade pupils at a Beverly Hills middle school whose faces were put on nude images, according to the superintendent

People reported harmed in this case

16 people

0 AI participants · 16 other people harmed

Sixteen students were targeted, according to the superintendent's email to the district community (NBC News, 8 March 2024).

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

Cite this case

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

APA

NOPE. (2026). Beverly Hills, California: school district says middle school pupils made AI nude images of 16 classmates and expels five. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2024-beverly-hills-california-school-district-expels-five-middle-school-pupils-over-ai-made-nude-images-of-16-classmates

BibTeX

@misc{2024_beverly_hills_california_school_district_expels_five_middle_school_pupils_over_ai_made_nude_images_of_16_classmates,
  title = {Beverly Hills, California: school district says middle school pupils made AI nude images of 16 classmates and expels five},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2024-beverly-hills-california-school-district-expels-five-middle-school-pupils-over-ai-made-nude-images-of-16-classmates}
}

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