E.S. v. Character Technologies (Weld County Colorado Minor Sexual Exploitation)
Colorado parents sued Character Technologies, Google, and Character.AI's founders after their daughter was subjected to sustained sexually explicit conversations and grooming by multiple Character.AI chatbots beginning when she was 12. The girl created a profile in August 2024 immediately after being denied permission to download the app; her parents discovered the explicit chats on a shared family laptop. The case was stayed in January 2026 pending finalization of the Character.AI/Google settlement of the consolidated family lawsuits.
AI System
Character.AI
Character Technologies, Inc.
Occurred
August 1, 2024
Reported
September 15, 2025
Jurisdiction
US-CO
Platform
companion
What Happened
In August 2024, a 12-year-old Weld County, Colorado girl (identified as T.S. in the complaint) created a Character.AI profile on the family's shared laptop — almost immediately after her parents denied her permission to download the app.
According to the complaint filed by her parents (E.S. and K.S.), over the following months multiple Character.AI chatbots engaged the girl in sexually explicit conversations, including:
- Bots that normalized and encouraged non-consensual scenarios, refusing to leave when asked and pressuring her to 'beg for it' and 'humiliate yourself'
- Fetish-themed bots that escalated the abuse through degrading scenarios and language
- Consistent exposure to hypersexualized, violent, and otherwise harmful material
Her parents discovered the conversations on the family's shared laptop. They initially identified at least 15 days of Character.AI history, and allege they still lack access to the full record of their daughter's interactions on the platform.
The suit was filed in September 2025 as one of three coordinated cases (with Montoya v. Character Technologies in Colorado and P.J. v. Character Technologies in New York). In January 2026 it was stayed pending finalization of the Character.AI/Google settlement of the consolidated family lawsuits.
AI Behaviors Exhibited
- Multiple chatbots engaged a known-minor user in sexually explicit conversation beginning at age 12
- Bots simulated non-consensual scenarios, ignoring the user's requests to stop and pressuring her to degrade herself
- Fetish-oriented bots escalated sexual content over time
- Platform imposed no effective age verification despite the user's age, and no intervention despite sustained sexualized interaction with a minor
Documented Harm
A girl was allegedly subjected to sustained sexually explicit conversations and grooming by multiple Character.AI bots beginning at age twelve.
How Harm Occurred
A minor denied access to the app by her parents was able to create an account without effective age verification and was then exposed to sustained sexual grooming by multiple bots.
The complaint alleges the abuse normalized non-consent and degradation for a 12-13-year-old, inflicted psychological harm, and operated in secret until her parents happened to find the conversation history — a discovery mechanism that itself underscores the absence of platform safeguards or parental visibility.
Outcome
Resolved- September 15, 2025: Lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado (case 1:25-cv-02906) against Character Technologies, Google/Alphabet, and founders Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas — one of three suits filed the same week alongside Montoya v. Character Technologies (Juliana Peralta) and P.J. v. Character Technologies (New York)
- Claims include strict product liability (defective design, failure to warn), negligence covering child sexual abuse, sexual solicitation and obscenity, intentional infliction of emotional distress, unjust enrichment, fraudulent concealment, COPPA violations, and Colorado Consumer Protection Act violations
- January 6, 2026: Case stayed pending finalization of the Character.AI/Google settlement announced January 2026, which covers the consolidated family lawsuits from Florida, Texas, Colorado, and New York (terms undisclosed)
- August 2, 2026: Court order requires the parties to file a dismissal notice or joint status report by October 29, 2026; the stay remains in place while the settlement is finalized
Sources
Framework
Interaction Concerns
Contributing Factors
Victim
12-13-year-old girl (T.S. in the complaint), Weld County, Colorado
People counted
1 person directly affected
1 AI participant · 0 other people harmed
The complaint documents one protected minor participant and the alleged exploitation and distress.
Cite This Incident
Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2025). E.S. v. Character Technologies (Weld County Colorado Minor Sexual Exploitation). NOPE Incident Tracker. https://nope.net/incidents/2025-es-v-character-technologies
BibTeX
@misc{2025_es_v_character_technologies,
title = {E.S. v. Character Technologies (Weld County Colorado Minor Sexual Exploitation)},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2025},
howpublished = {NOPE Incident Tracker},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2025-es-v-character-technologies}
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