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High News report Involves Minor Investigation Opened

São Paulo: a 37-year-old influencer used AI 'deepfake' tools to insert photographs of young women and adolescent girls of the Congregação Cristã do Brasil, taken from their social-media profiles without consent, into sexualised videos set inside churches; a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old filed police reports and the Civil Police investigate under the child-protection statute

A humorist and tyre repairer from Lençóis Paulista, São Paulo state, who posts on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok as an impersonator of a television presenter, used AI tools to turn photographs that young women and adolescent girls of the Congregação Cristã do Brasil (CCB) had posted from inside churches into videos in which they appear dancing sensually beside women in short skirts, with the presenter inserted and the influencer commenting on their clothes. A 16-year-old congregant and her parents went to the 8ª Delegacia de Defesa da Mulher in São Paulo in February 2026; g1 made the case public on 22 April 2026 and Folha de S.Paulo confirmed the investigation. The girl told g1 the photograph had been taken in 2025 in front of the altar of a CCB church, that she was very shy, had not wanted to be exposed and was afraid the exposure would affect her social life, and that she had stopped taking photographs of herself; her family sued for moral damages. On 30 April 2026 the mother of a second girl, aged 17, registered a police report at the 4ª DDM Norte; g1 reported that the exposure had affected the girl psychologically. The São Paulo Civil Police investigate under article 241-C of the Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente (simulating a sex or pornography scene with a minor by digital means) and for defamation of adult women in the videos; the inquiry was sent at the prosecutor's request to Lençóis Paulista, where the suspect lives, and the total number of people depicted was still being established. The influencer admitted making the videos with AI, said through his lawyer that they were satire and criticism of customs in a context of humour, said he did not know some of those depicted were minors, denied in his police statement linking the adolescent's image to sexualised content and said he had taken her for an adult, and posted an apology video (dated 5 April by g1's first report, which says it does not mention the deepfakes; described as posted after his police statement in g1's second report). The CCB said it had identified him, was taking internal measures and supports legal measures by the authorities. No later development was found on 2026-09-22.

AI System

AI image-animation and face-insertion ('deepfake') tools; the influencer told police he used TikTok tools to animate and manipulate the images, and said in a recording that he 'throws' the photographs into an AI that makes them dance

Occurred

Feb 2026 to Apr 2026

Reported

22 April 2026

Event location

Brazil

Platform

other

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: supported. The influencer admitted in his own recordings and in his police statement that he takes the congregants' photographs and puts them into an AI that makes them dance; the delegada describes the case as deepfake; g1, Folha and Metrópoles all report AI manipulation. The tool is not named. The artifacts depicted the girls and women; no AI system interacted with them.

AI-to-person relation

  • Depicted or impersonated the person

Core relations are communication, acting on someone’s behalf, and depiction or impersonation. Decision and claim relations are retained as contextual cases.

Someone else’s AI use. Settings: Everyday life, Privacy, Justice, Religion.

Claim status: Corroborated

A digital influencer manipulated, without consent, photographs of young women and adolescent girls of the Congregação Cristã do Brasil into videos with sexual connotation using AI ('deepfake') tools and published them on his social-media profiles, including Instagram, TikTok and YouTube; he admitted in his own recordings that he takes the congregants' photographs and puts them into an AI that makes them dance.

Causal attribution: Reported by g1 from the police and the victims, confirmed by Folha, and admitted by the influencer in his own recordings and police statement.

  • News report (supports): 'Influenciador digital usou ferramentas de IA para inserir fotos de jovens evangélicas da Congregação Cristã do Brasil (CCB) em vídeos com conotação sexual dentro das igrejas da entidade.'; 'O material foi publicado nas redes sociais do influencer, onde ele soma quase 50 mil seguidores.'
  • News report (supports): '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.'; 'O caso foi inicialmente divulgado pelo g1 e confirmado pela Folha.'
  • News report (supports): '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.'
  • News report (supports): 'publicadas em perfis dele no Instagram, no TikTok e no YouTube'

Claim status: Reported

A 16-year-old congregant told g1 that her photograph, taken in 2025 in front of the altar of a CCB church, had been used without authorisation in an AI montage placing her beside women in sensual poses; she said she was very shy and had not wanted to be exposed, feared the effect on her social life and had stopped taking photographs of herself; she and her parents had gone to the 8ª DDM in February 2026 and the family filed a civil action for moral damages.

Causal attribution: The girl's and her family's account to g1; Metrópoles confirms the 16-year-old's complaint to the 8ª DDM. g1's 15 May report describes the first complainant as also 17, a discrepancy recorded in unknowns.

  • News report (supports): '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]. Eu não tirei mais de mim.'; 'O caso veio à tona em fevereiro, quando a jovem e os pais procuraram a 8ª Delegacia de Defesa da Mulher (DDM), em São Mateus, Zona Leste da capital paulista.'; 'A família entrou com ação na Justiça pedindo indenização por dano moral.'
  • News report (supports): 'após uma adolescente de 16 anos, vítima do influenciador em uma das publicações, denunciar o caso à 8ª Delegacia da Defesa da Mulher (DDM) de São Paulo'

Claim status: Corroborated

The São Paulo Civil Police investigate the influencer; the inquiry was registered at the 8ª Delegacia de Defesa da Mulher in São Paulo and sent to the police of Lençóis Paulista by judicial order.

Causal attribution: The investigation and the transfer to Lençóis Paulista are reported by g1 and confirmed by Folha and Metrópoles; Folha frames the transfer by where the facts occurred, g1 by where the suspect lives.

  • News report (supports): 'A Polícia Civil de São Paulo investiga o caso.'; 'O inquérito, que começou na 8ª DDM da capital, foi encaminhado'
  • News report (supports): 'A ocorrência foi registrada na 8ª DDM (Delegacia de Defesa da Mulher) da capital e posteriormente encaminhada à Delegacia de Polícia de Lençóis Paulistas, responsável pela área onde teriam ocorrido os fatos.'
  • News report (supports): 'O Metrópoles apurou que a investigação é feita por meio de um inquérito policial que foi direcionado às autoridades de Lençóis Paulista, no interior de São Paulo, por determinação judicial.'

Claim status: Reported

g1 reports that he is investigated under article 241-C of the Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente (one to three years plus a fine) and for possible defamation of other young women exposed; that the transfer to the 2ª Vara of Lençóis Paulista, where he lives, was ordered by the 1ª Vara de Crimes Praticados contra Crianças e Adolescentes at the Ministério Público's request; and that the delegada of the 8ª DDM said some identified victims were adolescents and asked others to come forward.

Causal attribution: g1's reporting of the police and court steps; single chain for these details.

  • News report (supports): '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.'; 'à 2ª Vara da Comarca de Lençóis Paulista, no interior do estado, onde o investigado mora. O pedido foi feito pelo Ministério Público (MP).'; 'A gente está investigando esse caso de deepfake. Houve uma simulação dessas imagens dessas meninas, algumas delas adolescentes'; 'pede que outras jovens expostas pelo influencer também procurem à delegacia'

Claim status: Reported

On 30 April 2026 the mother of a second adolescent, aged 17, registered a police report at the 4ª DDM Norte; g1 reported that the online exposure had affected the girl psychologically, that the influencer was also investigated for defamation of adult women in the videos, and that the total number of victims was still being established.

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

  • News report (supports): 'O boletim de ocorrência mais recente foi registrado em 30 de abril, pela mãe da adolescente, na 4ª Delegacia de Defesa da Mulher (DDM) Norte, após a divulgação da reportagem do g1 sobre o caso.'; 'A divulgação na internet afetou a garota psicologicamente.'; 'outras jovens evangélicas da CCB tiveram suas imagens expostas sem autorização, mas o número total de vítimas ainda está sendo apurado.'; 'também é investigado por difamação, já que há vítimas adultas que aparecem nos vídeos manipulados com deep fake'

Claim status: Corroborated

Through his lawyer the influencer said the publications were satire and criticism of customs in a context of humour, without intent of sexual exploitation, that he did not know the ages of those depicted, and that he had expressed regret and made a public retraction apologising to the young women, their families and the CCB.

Causal attribution: The defence note was sent to both g1 and Metrópoles.

  • News report (supports): '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'
  • News report (supports): 'alegou que as publicações foram feitas em um “contexto de humor”, sem a intenção de atentar contra a dignidade sexual das vítimas.'; 'realizou uma retratação pública, pedindo desculpas às jovens, às famílias e à comunidade da Congregação Cristã do Brasil (CCB) por qualquer constrangimento ou sofrimento causado'

Claim status: Reported

g1 reports that he admitted in his own earlier recordings and in his police statement that he takes the congregants' photographs and animates them with AI, that he posted an apology video, and that the CCB said it supports the legal measures taken by the authorities; in his police statement he also denied linking the adolescent's image to scantily dressed women or any sexualised content and said he had taken her for an adult.

Causal attribution: g1's reporting of his recordings, statement and video; the CCB note as given to g1.

  • News report (supports): 'Pego a foto, as irmãs postando de costas, e jogo na IA. A IA faz dançar'; 'Eu peço perdão a todos que se sentiram ofendidos. Eu prometo ser mais cauteloso'; 'declarou apoiar a adoção de medidas legais cabíveis pelas autoridades'
  • News report (supports): 'negou ter vinculado a imagem da adolescente a fotografias de mulheres com pouca vestimenta ou a qualquer conteúdo sexualizado ou pornográfico'

What remains unknown

  • The age of the first complainant: 16 per g1 on 22 April 2026, 'também de 17 anos' per g1 on 15 May 2026.
  • How many people were depicted; the police were still establishing the number in May 2026.
  • When the videos were first posted; the photographs date from 2025 and the first complaint from February 2026.
  • Whether the suspect has been indicted or charged, and the status of the civil damages action; no development after 15 May 2026 was found.
  • Which AI tools were used beyond the TikTok tools he named to police.
  • When the apology video was posted: g1's 22 April report dates it to 5 April 2026 and says it does not mention the deepfakes; g1's 24 April report describes it as posted after his police statement.
  • Which police station took the first complaint: 8ª DDM (g1 22 April, Metrópoles) or 5ª DDM Leste (g1 15 May).
Source reading, translation and location

News report · pt · Source inspected

Read live in Portuguese on 2026-09-22 (g1 São Paulo, 22 April 2026, updated 23 April). Own reporting: the 16-year-old and her parents, another congregant, the delegada, the family's lawyer, experts. Translated by the reviewer.

This source shares an underlying account with another listed source.

News report · pt · Source inspected

Read live in Portuguese on 2026-09-22 (g1 São Paulo, 24 April 2026). The suspect's defence note, police statement, own recordings and apology video; CCB and platform responses. Grouped with s1.

This source shares an underlying account with another listed source.

News report · pt · Source inspected

Read live in Portuguese on 2026-09-22 (g1 São Paulo, 15 May 2026). Second police report of 30 April 2026. Grouped with s1.

This source shares an underlying account with another listed source.

News report · pt · Source inspected

Read live in Portuguese on 2026-09-22 at the .shtml path (Folha de S.Paulo, 22 April 2026); the .ghtml path cited by the historical record answers 404 and its Internet Archive capture is a subscription shell. Folha states the case was first reported by g1 and confirmed by Folha.

News report · pt · Source inspected

Read live in Portuguese on 2026-09-22 (Metrópoles, 24 April 2026). Defence note, Metrópoles's own checking of the inquiry's transfer, CCB note to Metrópoles.

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

Photographs taken in CCB churches in São Paulo; complaints at the 8ª DDM (São Mateus, São Paulo) and 4ª DDM Norte; suspect in Lençóis Paulista, São Paulo state (g1, Folha, Metrópoles). Court: the inquiry was transferred by the 1ª Vara de Crimes Praticados contra Crianças e Adolescentes of São Paulo to the 2ª Vara of Lençóis Paulista, and the first girl's family filed a civil damages action (g1).

Reviewed for publication 2026-09-22: Restored under the 2026-09-15 charter as an image-based abuse case involving minors, documented by g1's interviews with the victims, their families and the delegada, confirmed by Folha and Metrópoles, and admitted in substance by the influencer, who disputes criminal intent. Not a death case. The girls and their families are unnamed; the adult suspect is described but not named in this record.

What Happened

g1 (22 April 2026) reported that a digital influencer had used AI tools to insert photographs of young CCB congregants into videos with sexual connotation set inside the entity's churches, published on his social-media accounts (almost 50,000 followers), in some of which he criticises the clothing worn by the faithful and uses CCB hymns as the soundtrack; that he was investigated under article 241-C of the ECA and that the police were also examining possible defamation of other young women exposed. A 16-year-old told g1: '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'; the photograph had been taken in 2025 during a moment of faith in front of the altar of a CCB church; she said she was very shy, had not wanted to be exposed, feared the effect on her social life, and had stopped taking photographs of herself. Her mother said the case took away her sleep; her father said there was 'uma quantidade enorme de vítimas'; the family filed a moral-damages action. The delegada of the 8ª DDM, Juliana Raite Menezes, said: 'A gente está investigando esse caso de deepfake. Houve uma simulação dessas imagens dessas meninas, algumas delas adolescentes', and asked other young women exposed to come forward. Another congregant said she had filed several complaints against the account and a lawsuit against everyone using her image. g1 (24 April) reported the defence note of the suspect's lawyer (satire and criticism of customs, no intent of sexual exploitation), his statement to police that he took the photographs from public profiles and did not know some of those depicted were adolescents, his earlier recordings ('Pego a foto, as irmãs postando de costas, e jogo na IA. A IA faz dançar'; 'Algumas eu coloquei, mas é uma forma de chamar atenção para ganhar seguidores'), his apology video (g1's 22 April report dates the video to 5 April, Easter Sunday, and says he does not mention the deepfakes in it; the 24 April report describes it as posted after his police statement), the CCB's note, and the platforms' responses. In his police statement, per g1's 22 April report, he denied linking the adolescent's image to photographs of scantily dressed women or any sexualised content, said he had taken her for an adult, and said he used TikTok tools to animate and manipulate the images. g1 (15 May) reported the second police report, registered on 30 April by the mother of a 17-year-old at the 4ª DDM Norte after g1's report, that the girl was affected psychologically by seeing her photograph turned into a video in which she dances beside the presenter and a woman in a miniskirt, and that the total number of victims was still being established; it also refers to the first complainant as 'também de 17 anos', whereas the 22 April report gives her age as 16. Folha (22 April) reported the investigation, the accounts and the transfer of the inquiry to Lençóis Paulista, noting that the case was first reported by g1 and confirmed by Folha. Metrópoles (24 April) carried the defence note, reported that the inquiry had been directed to the Lençóis Paulista authorities by judicial order, and quoted the CCB's note that it had identified the influencer, was taking the applicable internal measures and does not accept the dissemination of content of that nature.

Reported harm

Adolescent congregants and adult women were depicted without consent in AI-made sexualised videos posted to tens of thousands of followers; a 16-year-old described embarrassment, fear for her social life and giving up photographs of herself, and a 17-year-old was reported to be psychologically affected. The creation and posting are admitted by the influencer, who disputes any sexual or criminal intent.

Exploitation or AbusePsychological DistressReputational Harm

Outcome

Ongoing

Criminal: inquiry opened at the 8ª DDM (São Mateus, São Paulo) after the first complaint in February 2026 and, at the request of the Ministério Público, transferred by the 1ª Vara de Crimes Praticados contra Crianças e Adolescentes to the 2ª Vara of Lençóis Paulista, where the suspect lives (g1, 22 April 2026; Folha, 22 April; Metrópoles, 24 April). Suspected offences: article 241-C of the ECA (one to three years plus a fine) and defamation of adult women depicted. Second police report registered on 30 April 2026 at the 4ª DDM Norte by the mother of a 17-year-old (g1, 15 May). The suspect gave a statement, denied criminal intent and denied linking the adolescent's image to sexualised content, admitted using AI (he told police TikTok tools) on photographs taken from public profiles, and remained at liberty. The CCB told Folha and Metrópoles it had identified him and was taking internal measures. g1's 15 May report says the first complaint was made at the 5ª DDM Leste, whereas its 22 April report and Metrópoles say the 8ª DDM. Civil: the first girl's family filed an action for moral damages (g1, 22 April). Platforms: TikTok and YouTube said they removed content; Meta did not comment. No charge, indictment or court decision was found in searches on 2026-09-22 (Google News pt-BR, two queries). The historical record dated the case 22 April 2026 (the day it became public); this review dates the series from the first police complaint in February 2026 to the second complaint on 30 April 2026; the posting dates of the videos are not reported.

People described

Young women and adolescent girls of the Congregação Cristã do Brasil whose photographs were used without consent; two identified minors, aged 16 and 17, filed police reports; the total number depicted was still being established; none named

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 identified minors who filed police reports (a 16-year-old, g1 22 April; a 17-year-old, g1 15 May). Other congregants, adult and adolescent, are described as depicted ('uma quantidade enorme de vítimas' per the father; 'o número total de vítimas ainda está sendo apurado' per g1) 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-imagery#ncii#minor#brazil#sao-paulo#church#influencer#eca#depicted

Cite this case

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

APA

NOPE. (2026). São Paulo: a 37-year-old influencer used AI 'deepfake' tools to insert photographs of young women and adolescent girls of the Congregação Cristã do Brasil, taken from their social-media profiles without consent, into sexualised videos set inside churches; a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old filed police reports and the Civil Police investigate under the child-protection statute. NOPE: AI and people. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-brazil-influencer-ai-sexualized-minors

BibTeX

@misc{2026_brazil_influencer_ai_sexualized_minors,
  title = {São Paulo: a 37-year-old influencer used AI 'deepfake' tools to insert photographs of young women and adolescent girls of the Congregação Cristã do Brasil, taken from their social-media profiles without consent, into sexualised videos set inside churches; a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old filed police reports and the Civil Police investigate under the child-protection statute},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {NOPE: AI and people},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-brazil-influencer-ai-sexualized-minors}
}

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