Berlin school and police investigate alleged AI sexual images of pupils
A Berlin school and education authorities reported suspicions that pupils created and distributed AI sexual images of classmates. The school imposed sanctions and police opened an investigation. The pupils are unnamed and the number depicted was not reliably established.
- AI system
- Unidentified image tool
- Occurred
- 19 Jun 2026
- Reported
- 24 June 2026
- Event location
- Germany
- What the AI did
- Depicted or impersonated the person
- Reported harm
- Exploitation or Abuse
- Whose AI use
- Someone else’s AI use
- Setting
- Education · Privacy · Justice
- Evidence
- AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 1 source
- 3 claims: 3 reported. 6 open questions
- People reported harmed
- Not reliably quantifiable from the sources
AI system as recorded: AI image-generation ('deepfake') tool, not named
What Happened
A Berlin school and education authorities reported suspicions that pupils created and distributed AI sexual images of classmates. The school imposed sanctions and police opened an investigation. The pupils are unnamed and the number depicted was not reliably established.
Reported harm
Female pupils were depicted in AI-generated sexualised nude images that were distributed at their school, which the school describes as a massive attack on their personality rights and a form of sexualised violence; the creation and distribution are attributed by the school's letter to two suspended pupils, and the police confirm complaints over the creation of deepfakes and an investigation by the LKA unit for sexual offences against minors. No account from the depicted girls has been published.
Outcome
OngoingA Berlin school and education authorities reported suspicions that pupils created and distributed AI sexual images of classmates. The school imposed sanctions and police opened an investigation. The pupils are unnamed and the number depicted was not reliably established.
What remains unknown
- How many girls were depicted; 'at least three cases' is a count of alleged acts, not of persons.
- The ages of the suspects and of the depicted pupils, and the tool used.
- When the images were created and how they were distributed.
- Whether charges followed; no development after June 2026 was found on 2026-09-22.
- The Berliner Morgenpost's first report was not read.
- The date of the school's letter is not given; 19 June 2026 assumes 'am vergangenen Freitag' is relative to the week of the 24 June report.
What the evidence supports
AI involvement: reported. The school's letter and the Senate education administration describe KI-generated sexualised nude images; the police spokesman refers to complaints over the creation of deepfakes. No tool is named and no forensic detail is public. The artifacts depicted the girls; no AI system interacted with them.
3 claims: 3 reported. What the statuses mean
Reported Two pupils at a Berlin school were suspected of creating and distributing AI sexual images of classmates in at least three cases. The school informed parents after learning of the incidents in June 2026; education authorities confirmed an investigation.
Causal attribution. The school's letter and the Senate confirmation as reported by the Tagesspiegel; 'vergangenen Freitag' before the 24 June 2026 report is 19 June 2026.
- tagesspiegel.de(opens in new tab) supports · German
'An der [school/locality withheld] in [school/locality withheld] wird gegen zwei Schüler wegen des Verdachts ermittelt, KI-generierte sexualisierte Nacktbilder von Mitschülerinnen erstellt und verbreitet zu haben.'; 'Die Senatsverwaltung für Bildung bestätigte dem Tagesspiegel die Vorfälle und die laufenden Ermittlungen.'; 'Den Schülern sollen mindestens drei Fälle vorgeworfen werden. Die Schulleitung informierte die Schulgemeinschaft, dass sie am vergangenen Freitag von den Vorfällen erfahren habe.'
Reported The two pupils alleged to be mainly responsible were suspended from lessons with immediate effect and the school imposed measures on pupils who are said to have known of the images and not reported them; the school called the alleged acts a massive attack on the affected girls' personality rights and a form of sexualised violence and said it would revise its prevention and sex-education concepts.
Causal attribution. The school's letter as reported.
- tagesspiegel.de(opens in new tab) supports · German
'Die beiden mutmaßlich hauptverantwortlichen Schüler seien mit sofortiger Wirkung vom Unterricht suspendiert worden. Zudem habe die Schule Maßnahmen gegen Schülerinnen und Schüler verhängt, die von den Bildern gewusst, die Vorfälle jedoch nicht gemeldet haben sollen.'; 'In dem Schreiben bezeichnet die Schulleitung die mutmaßlichen Taten als „massiven Angriff auf die Persönlichkeitsrechte der betroffenen Schülerinnen“ und als „Form sexualisierter Gewalt“.'; 'Als Reaktion wolle die Schule ihr Präventionskonzept sowie das Konzept zur Sexualerziehung überarbeiten.'
Reported A Berlin police spokesman said complaints had been filed over the creation of deepfakes, that the State Criminal Police Office unit for sexual offences against minors had taken over the investigation, and that liability for possessing, obtaining, creating or distributing youth pornography under section 184c of the Criminal Code was under consideration; the school's letter says the investigation is conducted on behalf of the public prosecutor.
Causal attribution. Police spokesman as quoted by the Tagesspiegel; the prosecutor's role is the school letter's statement.
- tagesspiegel.de(opens in new tab) supports · German
'„Es liegen Anzeigen wegen der Erstellung sogenannter Deepfakes vor“, sagte ein Sprecher der Berliner Polizei.'; 'Die Ermittlungen dazu habe die Abteilung des Landeskriminalamts übernommen, die für Sexualdelikte zum Nachteil Minderjähriger zuständig sei.'; 'Dabei komme eine Strafbarkeit wegen des Besitzes, der Beschaffung, der Erstellung oder Verbreitung von Jugendpornografie nach Paragraf 184 c des Strafgesetzbuchs in Betracht.'; 'Die Schule habe die Polizei eingeschaltet, die Ermittlungen würden im Auftrag der Staatsanwaltschaft geführt.'
Sources
1 source inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.
- Der Tagesspiegel — report on the case(opens in new tab)
s1 · tagesspiegel.de · News report · German · Inspected · 24 June 2026 · Primary
How the sources were read, and where the events happened
Read live in German on 2026-09-22 (Der Tagesspiegel, 24 June 2026 14:39, marked 'Update', with dpa). Own reporting: the school leadership's letter to parents, statements from the Senate Department for Education, a Berlin police spokesman and the Pankow district parents' committee. Translated by the reviewer. Applies to s1.
Event countries: Germany. Affected-person countries: Germany. Court countries: Unknown.
[school/locality withheld], [school/locality withheld], Pankow district; Berlin police and public prosecutor (Tagesspiegel). No court proceeding reported.
Reviewed for publication 2026-09-22: Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an image-based abuse case affecting minors at a school, documented by the school's letter, the Senate education administration and the police through one newspaper's own reporting (single article, several official origins, recorded as reported). Not a death case. Nobody is named.
People described
Unnamed school pupils in Berlin reportedly depicted in sexual images. Their number and ages were not reliably established.
People reported harmed in this case
Not reliably quantifiable from the sources
The report speaks of 'Mitschülerinnen' (female classmates, plural) and of 'mindestens drei Fälle' (at least three cases) alleged against the pupils, without stating how many girls were depicted; a count of cases is not a count of persons. Unquantified, with zero placeholders.
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). Berlin school and police investigate alleged AI sexual images of pupils. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-berlin-school-alleged-ai-sexual-images-classmates
BibTeX
@misc{2026_berlin_school_alleged_ai_sexual_images_classmates,
title = {Berlin school and police investigate alleged AI sexual images of pupils},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {AI incidents},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-berlin-school-alleged-ai-sexual-images-classmates}
} Related cases
Henderson, Kentucky: police identified AI-generated nude images of two middle-school children on a device after a report that such images were being created and shown to other students at South Middle School; a juvenile was lodged at the juvenile detention centre on charges of distributing sexually explicit images without consent and possessing and distributing matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor
Henderson Police said that on 'last Thursday' (17 September 2026) they received a report that AI-generated nude images of children were being created and shown to other students at South Middle School in Henderson, Kentucky. During the investigation officers found and identified AI-generated photographs of two minor victims on a digital device. A juvenile accused of sharing the images was lodged at the Juvenile Detention Center on three charge types: distribution of sexually explicit images without consent; two counts of possession or viewing of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor over 12 and under 18; and distribution of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor over 12 and under 18. The school said on Monday 21 September that it was aware of a situation involving a student allegedly misusing artificial intelligence and inappropriate images, that the police investigation was active and that it had remained in communication with the families involved. 14 News (WFIE) reported the case on 21 September; WKYT carried the same report. The tool is not named. The depicted children's exact ages are not reported, though the charge descriptors put them between 12 and 18. The accused is described as a South Middle School student; the accused's age and any relationship to the depicted children beyond attending the same school are not reported.
Jaú, São Paulo: eight 15-year-old ninth-grade boys at a private school are reported to have made fake nude images of a female classmate with artificial intelligence and shared them in a WhatsApp group; the school suspended them and the Civil Police are investigating a 15-year-old for dissemination of child pornography and defamation
In early September 2026 a private school in Jaú, in the interior of São Paulo state, identified the circulation of fake intimate images of a female classmate made with artificial intelligence and contacted the families. According to the police report described by the press, eight ninth-grade boys, all aged 15, kept a WhatsApp group in which they used digital programs to manipulate images of the student so that she appeared unclothed. The school suspended the eight and informed the girl's parents. The father of one of the boys checked his son's phone, found the files and took the boy and the phone to the police to register a report; the girl's parents also registered a police report. The São Paulo Public Security Secretariat said the Civil Police are investigating a 15-year-old for dissemination of child pornography and defamation that occurred on the morning of Thursday 3 September. The school said the content originated on a private platform outside the school environment and that it had adopted protective and welcoming measures for the student and opened an internal inquiry. The AI tool used is not named. The students are minors and are not named in any report.
Oldenburg, Germany: numerous messages sent through one or more student accounts on Oldenburg schools' email servers contained AI-manipulated deepfake images of children and young people, some of which police say may meet the offence of distributing child or youth sexual abuse material, alongside threats of violence and calls to self-harm; students and parents reported it and police are investigating (September 2026)
The Oldenburg-Stadt police inspectorate said on 22 September 2026 that in the preceding days numerous messages had been sent through one or more student accounts on the email servers of Oldenburg schools. The messages contained, among other things, deepfakes (manipulated depictions of children and young people); on an initial assessment some of these could constitute the offence of distributing child or youth sexual abuse material, and some messages contained threats of violence and calls for recipients to harm themselves. According to dpa, students and parents reported the incidents to the police, and dpa, reporting a police spokesman, describes the images as made with artificial intelligence (the written police statement calls them deepfakes, manipulated depictions, without naming AI). Investigators are examining whether unknown persons gained unauthorised access to the accounts; first digital traces were secured and the police are working with the affected schools. RND reports that the accounts were on the IServ school platform, whose provider said it had no access to the messages and believed the incident was limited to Oldenburg. The exact number of schools (the police refer to 'the affected schools', plural), messages, depicted children and recipients, and who created the images, are not reported.
Cookeville, Tennessee: two high-school students were charged with aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor after the sheriff's office said they used an AI program to turn photographs, including those of female classmates, into sexually explicit images and posted them; the mother of one depicted girl says her daughter shut herself in her room and stopped talking to friends
On 31 August 2026 the Putnam County Sheriff's Office was told of possible sharing of sexually explicit images at Cookeville High School. Detectives found that two male teenage students had used an artificial-intelligence program to turn photographs obtained online, in some cases photographs of fellow female students, into sexually explicit images, and had shared them; explicit images already stored on one phone were also shared. Both juveniles were taken to the Putnam County Juvenile Detention Center. One was charged with one count each of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, the other with two counts of each. The district attorney told NewsChannel 5 on 21 September that the two would be prosecuted in juvenile court. The mother of one of the depicted girls told the station the episode was very hard on her daughter, who had made no naked photographs herself, locked herself in her room and would not talk to her, to anybody or to her friends. The sheriff's-office account and the school system's statement were carried by WZTV, WSMV and 3B Media News on 1-2 September; NewsChannel 5 added its own interviews with the sheriff, the district attorney and the mother on 21 September. The tool is not named. The juveniles are not named in any report.
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