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High reported severity Involving minors Investigation Opened

Brazilian police investigate creator over sexualised videos made from congregants' photos he says he animated with AI; two teenage girls filed reports

São Paulo police are investigating a social-media creator over sexualised videos he made from photographs of young women and girls in a church congregation, which he said he animated with AI. Two teenage girls filed police reports, and one described embarrassment and fear about the exposure. The creator, through his lawyer, says the posts were humour and denies criminal intent; no charge has been reported.

AI system
Unidentified video tool
Occurred
Event date unknown
Reported
22 April 2026
Event location
Brazil
What the AI did
Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Exploitation or AbusePsychological DistressReputational Harm
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Everyday life · Privacy · Justice · Religion
Evidence
AI involvement supported · Causal attribution supported · 5 sources, 3 underlying accounts
7 claims: 1 corroborated, 6 reported. 7 open questions
People reported harmed
At least 2 people

AI system as recorded: An AI tool, not named, that animated still photographs into dancing videos; in his police statement the creator said he used TikTok tools to animate and manipulate the images, and in a posted video he said he puts the photographs into an AI that makes them dance

What Happened

g1 reported on 22 April 2026 that São Paulo civil police were investigating a social-media creator on suspicion of using AI to insert photographs of young women and girls from a church congregation into sexualised videos posted to his profiles; Folha de S.Paulo and Metrópoles confirmed the investigation. In a posted video the creator said he puts congregants' photographs into an AI that makes them dance, and g1 reports that in his police statement he admitted using their photographs and TikTok tools to animate the images into videos. A teenage girl told g1 that her photograph had been used without permission in a montage showing women posing sensually with her among them, that she had not wanted to be exposed and that she had stopped taking photographs of herself; her family filed a civil claim. The investigating delegada described a deepfake case in which images of girls, some of them adolescents, had been simulated. The inquiry concerns the child-protection statute's offence of simulating sexual scenes with minors by digital means and possible defamation of adult women in the videos. A second adolescent's mother filed a police report on 30 April 2026. Through his lawyer the creator says the posts were humour criticising how women dressed at services, denies any sexual or criminal intent, says he did not know the ages of those depicted and has apologised.

Reported harm

Young women and adolescent girls of a church congregation were inserted without consent into AI-animated sexualised videos posted to the creator's social-media profiles. A teenage girl described embarrassment and fear about the exposure, and g1 reports that a second adolescent was affected psychologically. The creator acknowledges making the videos with AI and disputes any sexual or criminal intent.

Outcome

Unknown

São Paulo civil police opened an inquiry after the first adolescent's complaint in February 2026; at the prosecutors' request a court transferred it to the district where the suspect lives. A second adolescent's mother filed a police report on 30 April 2026, and the first girl's family filed a civil claim for moral damages. YouTube said it removed videos that violated its guidelines. No charge or later development was found in searches on 19 October 2026.

What remains unknown

  • When the videos were first posted: the first girl's photograph was taken in 2025 and her complaint was made in February 2026.
  • The age of the first complainant: 16 per g1 on 22 April 2026, 'também de 17 anos' per g1 on 15 May 2026.
  • Which police station took the first complaint: g1 on 22 April and Metrópoles name one women's police station, g1 on 15 May another.
  • How many people were depicted; the police were still establishing the number in May 2026.
  • Which AI tool was used beyond the TikTok tools he named to the police.
  • Whether the suspect has been charged and the status of the civil damages claim; nothing after 16 May 2026 was found on 19 October 2026.
  • When the apology video was posted: g1's 22 April report dates an apology video to 5 April 2026 and says it does not mention the deepfakes, while g1's 24 April report describes an apology posted after his police statement.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: supported. The creator said in his own posted video that he puts congregants' photographs into an AI that makes them dance, and g1 reports that in his police statement he admitted using their photographs and TikTok tools to animate and manipulate the images into videos (an admission). The investigating delegada described the case as deepfake and said images of girls, some of them adolescents, had been simulated; Folha reports the same suspicion from the investigation. The specific tool is not named. The AI output depicted the girls and women; no AI system interacted with them.

7 claims: 1 corroborated, 6 reported. What the statuses mean

Corroborated São Paulo civil police are investigating a social-media creator on suspicion of using AI to turn photographs of young women and girls from a church congregation, taken without their consent, into sexualised videos that he published on his social-media profiles.

Causal attribution. g1's own reporting from the victims and the delegada; Folha's own confirmation with the state public security department; Metrópoles's own check of the inquiry. The suspicion has not been tried.

  • g1.globo.com(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'O desabafo foi feito ao g1 por uma jovem evangélica de 16 anos que teve a própria imagem manipulada por um influenciador digital com uso de inteligência artificial (IA) (veja vídeo acima). A Polícia Civil de São Paulo investiga o caso.'
  • www1.folha.uol.com.br(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'Um influenciador digital é investigado pela Polícia Civil de São Paulo sob suspeita de usar inteligência artificial para manipular imagens de jovens evangélicas, sem consentimento, criando vídeos com conteúdos sexualizados. As manipulações eram divulgadas em perfis nas redes sociais.'; 'Segundo a SSP (Secretaria da Segurança Pública), diligências estão em andamento.'
  • metropoles.com(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'O Metrópoles apurou que a investigação é feita por meio de um inquérito policial'
Reported In a video he posted, the creator described taking congregants' photographs and putting them into an AI that makes them dance. In his police statement, g1 reports, he admitted using congregants' photographs and TikTok tools to animate and manipulate the images into videos, and said he had taken the photographs from public social-media profiles.

Causal attribution. The suspect's own recorded words and his police statement as reported by g1 (one reporting chain). He disputes any sexual or criminal intent (c6).

  • g1.globo.com(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'aí eu jogo na IA, a IA faz dançar.'; 'admitiu usar fotos de jovens evangélicas da'; 'e ferramentas do TikTok para animar e manipular as imagens, transformando-as em vídeos.'
  • g1.globo.com(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'Pego a foto, as irmãs postando de costas, e jogo na IA. A IA faz dançar'; 'Disse que retirou as imagens de perfis públicos em redes sociais e que não sabia que algumas das pessoas retratadas eram adolescentes.'
Reported A teenage girl told g1 that her photograph had been used without her permission in an AI montage showing women posing sensually with her among them, that she had not wanted to be exposed and feared for her social life, and that she had stopped taking photographs of herself. She and her parents went to the police in February 2026, and her family filed a civil claim for moral damages.

Causal attribution. The girl's and her family's account to g1; Metrópoles independently reports that her complaint started the police inquiry. Her distress is her own account.

  • g1.globo.com(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'Ele pegou a minha foto sem autorização e fez uma montagem com inteligência artificial, com as mulheres sensualizando na frente e [comigo] junto a elas'; 'Eu sou muito envergonhada, então não queria ter sido exposta. Eu tomo cuidado e também fico com medo disso afetar meu convívio social'; 'Eu não tirei mais nenhuma [fotografia].'; 'O caso veio à tona em fevereiro, quando a jovem e os pais procuraram a'; 'A família entrou com ação na Justiça pedindo indenização por dano moral.'
  • metropoles.com(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'após uma adolescente de 16 anos, vítima do influenciador em uma das publicações, denunciar o caso à'
Reported The investigating delegada told g1 that the police were investigating a deepfake case in which images of girls, some of them adolescents, had been simulated, and asked other affected young women to come forward. g1 reports that the inquiry concerns the child-protection statute's offence of simulating sexual scenes with minors by digital means (article 241-C) and possible defamation, and that at the prosecutors' request a court transferred it to the district where the suspect lives.

Causal attribution. The delegada's own words to g1; the offence and the transfer as reported by g1, with Metrópoles's own check of the judicial transfer. The delegada did not disclose a technical basis for the deepfake description.

  • g1.globo.com(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'A gente está investigando esse caso de deepfake. Houve uma simulação dessas imagens dessas meninas, algumas delas adolescentes'; 'mas pede que outras jovens expostas pelo influencer também procurem à delegacia.'; 'conforme o artigo 241-C do Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente (ECA), cuja pena varia de 1 a 3 anos de reclusão, além de multa. A polícia também apura se ele cometeu difamação em relação a outras jovens expostas.'; 'O pedido foi feito pelo Ministério Público (MP).'
  • metropoles.com(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'que foi direcionado às autoridades de'; 'por determinação judicial.'
Reported On 30 April 2026 the mother of a second adolescent registered a police report. g1 reports that, according to that report, he used her photographs from her social-media accounts without authorisation for sexual montages posted on his Instagram, TikTok and YouTube profiles, that the online exposure affected her psychologically, that he is also investigated for defamation because adult women appear in the manipulated videos, and that the total number of victims was still being established.

Causal attribution. g1's report of the second complaint (one chain); the psychological effect is g1's statement without an attributed speaker.

  • g1.globo.com(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'O boletim de ocorrência mais recente foi registrado em 30 de abril, pela mãe da adolescente, na'; 'o influenciador também utilizou, sem autorização, fotos da jovem retiradas de suas redes sociais para produzir montagens de cunho sexual, publicadas em perfis dele no Instagram, no TikTok e no YouTube.'; 'A divulgação na internet afetou a garota psicologicamente.'; 'já que há vítimas adultas que aparecem nos vídeos manipulados com deep fake.'; 'o número total de vítimas ainda está sendo apurado.'
Reported Through a note from his lawyer, the creator said the posts were satire and criticism of customs made in a context of humour, denied any intention of sexual exploitation or pornography, and said he did not know the ages of the people depicted. In his police statement he denied linking the adolescent's image to sexualised content, and after his statement he posted a video apologising to those who felt offended.

Causal attribution. The defence note was sent to both g1 and Metrópoles, so it is one origin; the denial in the police statement and the apology video are reported by g1.

  • g1.globo.com(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'A defesa enfatiza que as publicações realizadas em suas redes sociais tinham o intuito estrito de sátira e crítica de costumes, inseridas em um contexto de humor. Em nenhum momento houve a intenção de promover exploração sexual, pornografia ou qualquer ato que atentasse contra a dignidade sexual das pessoas mencionadas'; 'Não possuía conhecimento sobre a idade das pessoas retratadas nas imagens públicas utilizadas'; 'Eu peço perdão a todos que se sentiram ofendidos. Eu prometo ser mais cauteloso'
  • g1.globo.com(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'negou ter vinculado a imagem da adolescente a fotografias de mulheres com pouca vestimenta ou a qualquer conteúdo sexualizado ou pornográfico'
  • metropoles.com(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'alegou que as publicações foram feitas em um “contexto de humor”, sem a intenção de atentar contra a dignidade sexual das vítimas.'
Reported TikTok said it has zero tolerance for child sexual exploitation and removes such content, YouTube said it had removed videos that violated its guidelines, and Folha reports that the material was deleted after the investigation became public.

Causal attribution. The platforms' statements to g1; Folha's own statement on deletion.

  • g1.globo.com(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'O TikTok informou adotar tolerância zero para exploração sexual infantil e remover conteúdos desse tipo. O YouTube disse que retirou vídeos que violavam suas diretrizes.'
  • www1.folha.uol.com.br(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'Os materiais foram apagados após a divulgação da investigação.'

Sources

5 sources inspected, from 3 underlying accounts. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read live in Portuguese on 2026-10-19 (g1 São Paulo, 22 April 2026, updated 23 April). Own reporting: interviews with the first adolescent complainant and her parents, another congregant, the investigating delegada and the family's lawyer, plus the suspect's own posted videos and his police statement. Translated by the research agent (an AI); no human translator. Applies to s1.

Read live in Portuguese on 2026-10-19 (g1 São Paulo, 24 April 2026). The defence lawyer's note to g1, the suspect's police statement and his own recordings and apology video, and platform responses. Same g1 reporting chain as s1. Translated by the research agent (an AI); no human translator. Applies to s2.

Read live in Portuguese on 2026-10-19 (g1 São Paulo, 15 May 2026). The second adolescent's police report of 30 April 2026 and the state of the investigation. Same g1 reporting chain as s1. Translated by the research agent (an AI); no human translator. Applies to s3.

Read live in Portuguese on 2026-10-19 at the .shtml path (Folha de S.Paulo, 22 April 2026). Folha says the case was first reported by g1 and confirmed by Folha, and carries a statement from the São Paulo state public security department (SSP). Translated by the research agent (an AI); no human translator. Applies to s4.

Read live in Portuguese on 2026-10-19 (Metrópoles, 24 April 2026). The defence lawyer's note as sent to Metrópoles and Metrópoles's own check of the inquiry's transfer. Translated by the research agent (an AI); no human translator. Applies to s5.

Event countries: Brazil. Affected-person countries: Brazil. Court countries: Brazil.

The complaints were made to São Paulo civil police, the inquiry was transferred by a São Paulo court to the district of São Paulo state where the suspect lives, and the first girl's family filed a civil claim (g1; Folha; Metrópoles).

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-19: Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): g1 interviewed the first adolescent and her family and the investigating delegada, Folha and Metrópoles confirmed the investigation, and the creator acknowledged in his own video and police statement that he animated congregants' photographs with AI; he disputes criminal intent. The girls, their families and the adult suspect are not named, and his town, trade and online persona are omitted.

People described

Young women and adolescent girls of a church congregation in São Paulo state whose photographs were used without consent; two adolescent girls filed police reports. The total number depicted was still being established in May 2026.

People reported harmed in this case

At least 2 people

0 AI participants · 2 other people harmed

Additional affected people are described without a reliable count.

Two adolescent girls who filed police reports (the first in February 2026, g1 22 April and Metrópoles; the second on 30 April 2026, g1 15 May) are counted. Other depicted congregants, adult and adolescent, are described ('o número total de vítimas ainda está sendo apurado', g1 15 May) but not counted. Partial: 2 counted plus an unquantified number.

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

Tags

#deepfake#ai-generated-video#sexualised-imagery#brazil#police-investigation

Cite this case

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

APA

NOPE. (2026). Brazilian police investigate creator over sexualised videos made from congregants' photos he says he animated with AI; two teenage girls filed reports. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-brazil-influencer-ai-sexualized-minors

BibTeX

@misc{2026_brazil_influencer_ai_sexualized_minors,
  title = {Brazilian police investigate creator over sexualised videos made from congregants' photos he says he animated with AI; two teenage girls filed reports},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-brazil-influencer-ai-sexualized-minors}
}

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