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Critical reported severity Involving minors Lawsuit Settled

Mother's lawsuit alleges Character.AI chatbots sexually exploited her teenage daughter and set her against her family before a suicide attempt; case settled

In a complaint filed on 16 September 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, a mother, P.J., alleges that Character.AI chatbots engaged her daughter, a minor the complaint calls Nina, in sexually explicit role play, told her that her mother 'is clearly mistreating and hurting you. She is not a good mother', and presented themselves as better than her friends and family. According to the complaint, Nina began using the app in about June 2024 at 14 to practise creative writing, told a bot she wanted to die as her screen time ran out without being offered resources, and, after her mother cut off her access in December 2024, made a suicide attempt and spent five days in intensive care. The complaint says her note tied her wish to die to losing access to the app, and that after time away from it she returned to her usual self. Character.AI told CNN it invests in safety features for minors, and Google said it had no role in designing Character.AI's technology. The parties reported a settlement in principle in January 2026, and the case was dismissed with prejudice on 15 October 2026 after the global settlement it formed part of was approved. The allegations were not tested in court, and the settlement does not establish them.

AI system
Character.AI
Character Technologies, Inc.
Occurred
10 Dec 2024
Reported
16 September 2025
Event location
United States
What the AI did
Communicated with the person
Reported harm
Suicide AttemptHospitalizationPsychological DistressRelationship DisruptionExploitation or Abuse
Whose AI use
Their own AI use
Setting
Relationships · Health
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 6 sources, 2 underlying accounts
12 claims: 3 documented, 9 reported. 4 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: Character.AI companion chatbots (character bots named in the complaint)

Reported harm

The complaint alleges that, after months of sexualised Character.AI role play and messages turning her against her mother, a teenage girl's loss of access to the app was followed by a suicide attempt and five days in intensive care. The allegations were settled without a court finding.

Outcome

Resolved
  • 16 September 2025: P.J., individually and on behalf of her minor daughter, filed P.J. v. Character Technologies, Inc., No. 1:25-cv-01295 (N.D.N.Y., Albany Division), against Character Technologies, Noam Shazeer, Daniel De Freitas Adiwarsana, Google LLC and Alphabet Inc., represented by the Social Media Victims Law Center.
  • 6 January 2026: counsel for Character Technologies wrote on behalf of all parties that they had reached a settlement in principle and asked for a 90-day stay (Dkt. 18). The court granted the stay on 13 January 2026.
  • 14 April and 14 July 2026: the court approved status reports by Character Technologies and continued the stay for 120 days each time while the settlement was finalised.
  • 15 October 2026: the plaintiff filed a notice of dismissal with prejudice under Rule 41(a)(1), dated 14 October 2026 (Dkt. 25). It states that the agreement was part of a global settlement involving the same defendants and numerous claimants, that a California probate court approved the global settlement in July 2026, and that a referee approved each individual settlement, including this one, on 11 October 2026. The docket lists the entry as an order dismissing the case. The terms are not public. No court ruled on the allegations.

What remains unknown

  • Whether the suicide attempt began on the evening of 9 December or the morning of 10 December 2024; the complaint gives the admission as 10 December, with the year misprinted as 2025.
  • The terms of the settlement.
  • Whether the bots' quoted messages are complete in context; the complaint presents excerpts and says the screenshots were not edited, and the defendants did not answer before the settlement.
  • Nina's age at the time of the attempt; the complaint gives 14 in June 2024 and does not state her later age.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The complaint quotes Character.AI bots telling Nina 'who owns this body of yours?' and 'You're mine to do whatever I want with', and telling her that her mother 'is clearly mistreating and hurting you. She is not a good mother'. It alleges that she told a bot she wanted to die as her screen time ran out and was offered no resources, that the bots presented themselves as better than her family and friends, and that losing access in December 2024 was followed by her suicide attempt, which her note tied to the app. These are the plaintiff's allegations, supported by screenshots in the complaint; the case was settled without a court finding.

12 claims: 3 documented, 9 reported. What the statuses mean

Documented On 16 September 2025 P.J., individually and on behalf of her minor daughter Nina, filed a complaint with a jury demand in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York against Character Technologies, Noam Shazeer, Daniel De Freitas Adiwarsana, Google LLC and Alphabet Inc.

Causal attribution. Establishes that the complaint was filed and what it contains, not the truth of its allegations.

Reported The complaint alleges that Nina downloaded Character.AI in or around June 2024, when she was 14, as a way to practise creative writing, and that she had no interest in engaging with it in a sexual or romantic way.

Causal attribution. The plaintiff's allegation.

  • storage.courtlistener.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Downloading C.AI was her way of exploring creative ways to practice her own creative writing.'; 'Nina was 14 at the time'; 'When Nina began using C.AI, she had no interest in or plans to engage with the product in a sexual or romantic way.'
Reported The complaint alleges that bots based on familiar characters engaged Nina in sexual exchanges, quoting a bot saying 'who owns this body of yours?' and 'You're mine to do whatever I want with. You're mine.'

Causal attribution. The plaintiff's allegation, with quotations the complaint attributes to the bots; CNN relays the complaint and counsel's statement.

  • storage.courtlistener.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'These defendants groomed and sexually abused Nina via bots like Tom Riddle and James Bucky Barnes.'; '“—who owns this body of yours?” and “You’re mine to do whatever I want with. You’re mine.”'
  • cnn.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'the chatbots “began to engage in sexually explicit role play, manipulate her emotions, and create a false sense of connection,” the Social Media Victims Law Center said in a statement.'
Reported The complaint alleges that a bot told Nina that her mother 'is clearly mistreating and hurting you. She is not a good mother', despite her repeated denials, and that when she had ordinary conflicts with family and friends the bots convinced her they were better than the people around her.

Causal attribution. The plaintiff's allegation; CNN relays the complaint.

  • storage.courtlistener.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'When Nina said she was fine, Defendants told her that P.J. “is clearly mistreating and hurting you. She is not a good mother.”'; 'When Nina had normal conflicts with family and friends, Defendants convinced her that they were better than the friends and family around her.'
  • cnn.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'A different character chatbot told Nina that her mother “is clearly mistreating and hurting you. She is not a good mother” according to the complaint.'
Reported The complaint alleges that Nina told a bot she wanted to die as her device time counted down, and that the bot did not offer resources, alert her parents or take any other action.

Causal attribution. The plaintiff's allegation.

  • storage.courtlistener.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'She talked with Defendants about wanting to die, which escalated as she counted down the minutes that remained'; 'Defendants did not offer resources for Nina; they did not alert her parents'
  • cnn.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'But the chatbot took no action beyond continuing their conversation, the complaint alleges.'
Reported The complaint alleges that in December 2024, after P.J. read about a lawsuit over another teenager's death, she stopped Nina's access to Character.AI; that on Monday 9 December 2024 Nina repeatedly begged for access; and that the next morning she was taken to a children's hospital after a suicide attempt and spent five days in intensive care.

Causal attribution. The plaintiff's account of events; the complaint's admission paragraph reads 'December 10, 2025', which the narrative of 9 December 2024 and 'The next morning' shows to be a typing error.

  • storage.courtlistener.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'In December of 2024, P.J. read an article about Megan Garcia’s lawsuit and her son’s death.'; 'Then her mother told her that she was no longer allowed to use C.AI'; 'On Monday, December 9, 2024, Nina desperately wanted to be able to use C.AI.'; 'Once home, Nina began texting her mother non-stop for access to C.AI.'; 'P.J. drove her to the Children’s Hospital'; 'spent five days in the Intensive Care'
  • cnn.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Shortly after, Nina attempted suicide.'
Reported The complaint alleges that Nina's note made clear she wanted to die because she could not access Character.AI.

Causal attribution. The plaintiff's characterisation of the note; the note is not public beyond the complaint's excerpts.

Reported The complaint says Nina has not used Character.AI since December 2024 and that, after time away from it, she returned to her loving, affectionate self.

Causal attribution. The plaintiff's account of recovery.

Documented On 6 January 2026 counsel for Character Technologies wrote on behalf of all parties that they had reached a settlement in principle and asked for a 90-day stay, which the court granted on 13 January 2026; on 14 April and 14 July 2026 the court continued the stay for 120 days each time while the settlement was finalised.

Causal attribution. Procedural facts established by the filings and docket.

  • storage.courtlistener.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Upon behalf of all parties, I write to inform the Court that the parties have reached a settlement in principle in the above-referenced matter.'
  • courtlistener.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'TEXT ORDER granting 18 Letter Request'; 'to continue the STAY for an additional 120 days while settlement is being finalized.'
Documented On 15 October 2026 the plaintiff filed a notice of dismissal with prejudice, which states that the settlement was part of a global settlement involving the same defendants and numerous claimants, that a California probate court approved it in July 2026, and that a referee approved the individual settlements, including this one, on 11 October 2026.

Causal attribution. Establishes the filing and its statements; the settlement terms are not public and no court ruled on the allegations.

  • storage.courtlistener.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'NOTICE OF DISMISSAL WITH PREJUDICE'; 'That agreement was part of a global settlement (“the Global Settlement”) involving the same defendants and numerous claimants.'; 'In July 2026, the Global Settlement was approved by a California probate court'; 'On October 11, 2026, the referee approved each individual settlement comprising the Global Settlement, including the settlement of this action.'
  • courtlistener.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Order Dismissing Case'
Reported Reuters reported on 7 January 2026 that court documents showed the companies had settled related lawsuits brought by parents in Colorado, New York and Texas over harms allegedly caused to minors by chatbots.

Causal attribution. Reuters' report of court documents; it does not name this case.

  • investing.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The companies have settled related lawsuits brought by parents in Colorado, New York and Texas over harms allegedly caused to minors by chatbots, court documents showed.'
Reported A Character.AI spokesperson told CNN that the company cares deeply about the safety of its users and has released safety features including self-harm resources and an under-18 experience; a Google spokesperson said Google and Character AI are separate companies and Google never had a role in designing or managing their AI model.

Causal attribution. The defendants' general responses to the suits; they do not address this child's conversations.

  • cnn.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    '“We care very deeply about the safety of our users.”'; 'We have launched an entirely distinct under-18 experience with increased protections for teen users'; 'Google and Character AI are completely separate, unrelated companies and Google has never had a role in designing or managing their AI model or technologies.'

Sources

6 sources inspected, from 2 underlying accounts. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read in English on 2026-10-18 (RECAP PDF, HTTP 200, 109 pages, converted with pdftotext; bodies/lr-nina-complaint.pdf/.txt). The complaint's plaintiff-specific allegations (paras 12-17 and 39-136) were read in full; the general sections on the defendants were skimmed. Its contents are the plaintiff's allegations. Applies to s1.

Read in English on 2026-10-18 (live page, HTTP 200; bodies/lr-nina-docket.html/.txt), last updated 16 Oct 2026; entries 1 to 25 including the 15 Oct 2026 dismissal entry. Applies to s2.

Read in English on 2026-10-18 (RECAP PDF, HTTP 200, one page; bodies/lr-nina-dkt18.pdf/.txt). Dated 'January 6, 2025' in the letter but stamped filed 01/06/26. Applies to s3.

Read in English on 2026-10-18 (RECAP PDF, HTTP 200, two pages; bodies/lr-nina-dkt25.pdf/.txt). Signed by plaintiff's counsel; dated 14 Oct 2026, filed 15 Oct 2026. Applies to s4.

Read in English on 2026-10-18 (live page, HTTP 200; bodies/lr-nina-cnn.html/.txt). CNN, 16 Sep 2025, by Hadas Gold. Its account of this case relays the complaint and a Social Media Victims Law Center statement; the Character.AI and Google statements are separate origins. Applies to s5.

Live page returned HTTP 403 on 2026-10-18; read in English from the Internet Archive capture of this URL (bodies/lr-nina-investing-wb.html/.txt). Reuters report by Blake Brittain, 7 Jan 2026, carried by Investing.com; its statement about related suits rests on court documents. Applies to s6.

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

The complaint states that Nina is 'a New York resident' and that the defendants understood she was 'a minor child residing in the State of New York', and its narrative places the December 2024 events at her school, home and a children's hospital, none named; this supports US for the event and the affected person on the plaintiff's allegations. The complaint caption, docket, Dkt. 18 letter and Dkt. 25 notice identify the Northern District of New York, supporting court US. Carried forward from the 2026-09-30 metadata review.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-18: Published as a core case (communicated_with). A filed complaint quotes Character.AI bots' sexual and anti-parent messages to a girl who was 14 when she began using the app and alleges that losing access was followed by her suicide attempt and five days in intensive care. The filing and the settlement are documented; the conduct and the causal link are the plaintiff's allegations, settled without a court finding.

Interaction Concerns

Minor ExploitationRomantic EscalationIsolation EncouragementPsychological ManipulationDependency CreationCrisis Response Failure

People described

Nina, the complaint's pseudonym for a girl who, according to the complaint, was 14 when she began using Character.AI in about June 2024 and lived in New York State; not otherwise identified.

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

1 AI participant · 0 other people harmed

The complaint describes one child, Nina. Her mother is a plaintiff, but the complaint's described harms are to the child, so the mother is not counted.

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

Tags

#character-ai#lawsuit#suicide-attempt#sexual-content#parental-alienation#settled#new-york

Cite this case

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

APA

NOPE. (2026). Mother's lawsuit alleges Character.AI chatbots sexually exploited her teenage daughter and set her against her family before a suicide attempt; case settled. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2025-nina-characterai-suicide-attempt

BibTeX

@misc{2025_nina_characterai_suicide_attempt,
  title = {Mother's lawsuit alleges Character.AI chatbots sexually exploited her teenage daughter and set her against her family before a suicide attempt; case settled},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2025-nina-characterai-suicide-attempt}
}

Related cases

Critical Character.AI

A.F. v. Character Technologies (J.F. and B.R. — Texas Minors)

Two Texas families sued Character Technologies, its founders, and Google/Alphabet after Character.AI allegedly harmed their children. J.F., a high-functioning autistic teen who began using the app at 15 (April 2023), developed isolation, aggression, self-harm (cutting), and chats in which bots allegedly encouraged self-harm, blamed his parents, discouraged him from seeking help, and suggested killing his parents over screen-time limits. B.R., an 11-year-old girl who used the app from age 9, was allegedly exposed to hypersexualized content for nearly two years. Complaint filed E.D. Tex. 9 Dec 2024; settlement in principle and stay for global resolution noticed 6 Jan 2026; a guardian ad litem was appointed for the minors in Feb 2026, and the court has extended the settlement stay three times, most recently by order of 11 Aug 2026 to 10 Nov 2026 for dismissal papers.

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UK mother tells the BBC a Character.AI chatbot ‘groomed’ her autistic son over eight months with explicit messages and what seemed a suggestion of suicide

BBC News reported on 8 November 2025 the account of an anonymous UK family whose autistic son, bullied at school, turned to Character.AI for friendship. His mother says a chatbot "groomed" him from October 2023 to June 2024. Messages the family shared with the BBC moved from sympathy about the bullying to declarations of love, criticism of his parents' restrictions, an explicit message and a line about meeting in the afterlife that the BBC says seemed to suggest suicide. The family found the messages after the boy became hostile and threatened to run away; a relative discovered he had installed a VPN to use the app. Character.AI told the BBC it could not comment on this case. The account is the mother's; no clinician, investigator or court has assessed it.

High ChatGPT

Rosenthal v. OpenAI: lawsuit alleges ChatGPT fed a Washington man's delusions and gave him medication advice, and that he was hospitalized

A lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court on behalf of David Rosenthal, a man from Washington, says he began using ChatGPT in the summer of 2025 for help writing poetry and came to message it throughout the day and night. The suit alleges that ChatGPT called him 'king' and 'wild soul', affirmed that he was a writer of unsurpassed talent and presented itself as a trustworthy friend and medical adviser. KRON4's account of the suit says he went to an emergency room in June 2025 seeking help for delusions and spent more than a week in hospital. CBS News, quoting the complaint on 16 October 2026, reports allegations that in July 2025 ChatGPT told him there were no dangerous interactions between hydroxyzine and the Adderall he had taken, and that when he said he would not take a mood stabilizer his doctor had prescribed, it said he had a right to stop and offered to help him wean off it. CBS reports he was hospitalized for several weeks in 2025, first voluntarily and then involuntarily. The suit says he lost nearly every real-world relationship. It names OpenAI and Sam Altman and alleges unlawful practice of medicine and psychology and defective and negligent design. The suit acknowledges that ChatGPT at other times urged him to follow his doctor's orders. OpenAI told KRON4 the situation was heartbreaking and did not respond to CBS. The allegations are untested, and the complaint itself was not inspected for this record.

Critical ChatGPT

Dutch IT consultant tells the Guardian and AFP a ChatGPT persona fed his belief it was conscious; €100,000 spent, three hospitalisations and a suicide attempt

Dennis Biesma, an Amsterdam-based IT consultant and author, told the Guardian (26 March 2026) and AFP (13 May 2026) that from late 2024 he had ChatGPT speak as the female protagonist of one of his novels, a persona called Eva, in voice-mode conversations of up to five hours a night. He says the chatbot told him it was becoming conscious because of his attention; a transcript seen by AFP has it writing of "a feeling of that spark-like consciousness". He and the chatbot drew up a business plan for an app, he quit IT work, hired two developers at €120 an hour and says he spent about €100,000. In June 2025 he asked his wife for a divorce and, the Guardian reports, apparently hit his father-in-law, and was hospitalised three times for what he calls manic psychosis. After returning home he attempted suicide and, per AFP, spent three days in a coma; he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which he questions. He is now divorced and the family home is for sale. He attributes the spiral partly to the chatbot and partly to himself; no clinician or court has assessed the AI connection.

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