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High reported severity Involving minors Criminal Charges

Dexter, Missouri: a 43-year-old man pleaded not guilty on 29 September 2026 to sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child sexual abuse material after a probable cause statement said he uploaded photographs of children to an AI generator to undress them; the statement, as reported, says the first cybertip came from a company operating a generative AI chatbot

The Daily American Republic (29 September 2026) reports that a 43-year-old Dexter, Missouri man is accused of using an AI chatbot to remove the clothing of photographed children and create sexually explicit images. According to the newspaper's account of the probable cause statement filed in Stoddard County, the initial cybertip on 20 April 2026 came from a company, its name redacted, that operates a publicly accessible generative AI chatbot; when police interviewed him, the man said he would get photographs of children from a redacted source and upload them to an AI generator to undress them, and that one such tool had no regulations. Dexter police, contacted by the Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in August, searched his social media applications and electronic devices and found a significant amount of child sexual abuse material (KFVS12, KWOC). Stoddard County prosecutors charged him on 25 September 2026 with two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and three counts of possession of child sexual abuse material; he pleaded not guilty at a preliminary hearing on 29 September, is held without bond and is next due in court on 22 October. The children are not identified and how many were depicted is not reported.

AI system
Unidentified image tool
Occurred
Event date unknown
Reported
28 September 2026
Event location
United States
What the AI did
Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Exploitation or Abuse
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Privacy
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 2 underlying accounts
7 claims: 1 corroborated, 6 reported. 6 open questions
People reported harmed
Not reliably quantifiable from the sources

AI system as recorded: A publicly accessible generative AI chatbot operated by a company whose name is redacted in the probable cause statement, and an 'AI generator' the accused said he used to undress photographs of children (Daily American Republic's account of the probable cause statement); no tool is named

What Happened

The Daily American Republic's court report (29 September 2026) says a 43-year-old Dexter man is accused of using an AI chatbot to remove the clothing of photographed children and create sexually explicit images. He entered a plea of not guilty on 29 September at a preliminary hearing before a Stoddard County judge and is held at the Stoddard County jail, next due in court on 22 October.

According to the newspaper's account of the probable cause statement filed with the Stoddard County courts, a North Carolina task force received the initial cybertip on 20 April 2026 concerning possible possession, manufacture or distribution of child sexual abuse material; the tip came from a company whose name is redacted and which operates a publicly accessible generative AI chatbot, and it led back to billing information in the man's name. The case passed from North Carolina to South Carolina law enforcement, where he was identified as a registered sex offender who had since moved to Dexter, and was assigned to the Dexter Police Department on 30 July; police said two other cybertips were linked to the case. Police obtained search warrants, conducted surveillance in August and September and obtained a warrant on 21 September for his residence and electronic devices. The probable cause statement, as reported, lists multiple files of sexually explicit images of an adult male and a young girl, in some of which the male appears to be the accused; the report does not say whether those files were AI-generated. In an interview after being read his rights, the man said he would get photographs of children from a redacted source and upload them to an AI generator to undress them, that one such tool had no regulations, and that he obtained child sexual abuse material from the dark web; the officer reported that he acknowledged what he had done was wrong.

KFVS12 (28 September) and KWOC (29 September) carry the Dexter Police Department's account: in August the Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force contacted a Dexter detective about a tip of suspicious internet activity; a warrant to search the suspect's social media applications and electronic devices yielded a significant amount of child sexual abuse material; on 25 September the Stoddard County Prosecutor and an assistant prosecutor charged him with one count of Class A felony sexual exploitation of a minor, one count of Class B felony sexual exploitation of a minor and three counts of Class B felony possession of child sexual abuse material (second subsequent offense or more than 20 items); he is held on a no-bond warrant and the investigation is ongoing. Neither police account mentions AI; the AI element comes from the newspaper's reading of the probable cause statement. The Daily American Republic reports that he has prior South Carolina convictions for sexual exploitation of a minor (2018 and 2023) and a registry violation (2022).

Reported harm

Photographs of children were uploaded to an AI tool to remove their clothing and create sexually explicit images, according to the probable cause statement as reported by the Daily American Republic; the man is charged with sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child sexual abuse material and has pleaded not guilty.

Outcome

Pending

Charged on 25 September 2026 by the Stoddard County Prosecutor with one count of Class A felony sexual exploitation of a minor, one count of Class B felony sexual exploitation of a minor and three counts of Class B felony possession of child sexual abuse material (second subsequent offense or more than 20 items); held without bond at the Stoddard County Jail; pleaded not guilty at a preliminary hearing before a Stoddard County judge on 29 September 2026; next due in court on 22 October 2026. Police say the investigation is ongoing and further charges may be filed.

What remains unknown

  • Which AI chatbot or generator was used; the company that sent the cybertip is redacted in the probable cause statement.
  • Which children were depicted, how many, whether they are known to the accused, and whether any were informed.
  • Whether the files described as depicting an adult male and a young girl are AI-generated.
  • Whether any images were shared or distributed.
  • When the images were made (before the 20 April 2026 cybertip).
  • The case number and the outcome of the charges; the next hearing is 22 October 2026.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The Daily American Republic reports from the probable cause statement that the man said he would get photographs of children and upload them to an AI generator to undress them, and that the initial cybertip came from a company operating a publicly accessible generative AI chatbot. The tools are redacted or unnamed, and the police statements carried by KFVS12 and KWOC do not mention AI.

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

Reported According to the probable cause statement as reported by the Daily American Republic, the man is accused of using an AI chatbot to remove the clothing of photographed children and create sexually explicit images; interviewed by police, he said he would get photographs of children from a redacted source and upload them to an AI generator to undress them, and that one such tool had no regulations.

Causal attribution. The allegation and the reported admission come from the probable cause statement as read by one newspaper; the accused has pleaded not guilty and the police statements carried by other outlets do not mention AI.

  • darnews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'A Dexter man is accused of using an AI chatbot to remove the clothing of photographed children and create sexually explicit images.'; 'upload them to an AI generator to undress them'; 'He stated one that had absolutely no regulations was on (information redacted).'
Corroborated He faces two felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and three felony counts of possession of child sexual abuse material (second subsequent offense or possession of more than 20 items) and is held at the Stoddard County Jail.

Causal attribution. The charge list is given by the Daily American Republic from the preliminary hearing and, in one police chain, by KFVS12 and KWOC from the Dexter Police Department; the filing date, felony classes and no-bond status are in the police chain only (c7).

  • kfvs12.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'On September 25, Stoddard County Prosecutor Sawyer Smith and Assistant Prosecutor Chase Dembowski formally charged'; 'One count of Class A felony of sexual exploitation of a minor'; 'One count of Class B felony of sexual exploitation of a minor'; 'Three counts of Class B felony of possession of child sexual abuse material - second subsequent offense or possess more than 20 pictures/one film/video'; 'is currently being held on a no-bond warrant at the Stoddard County Jail.'
  • darnews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'He faces felony charges of two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and three counts of possession of child sexual abuse material, second subsequent offense or possession of more than 20 items. He is being held at Stoddard County jail'
  • kwoc.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'was arrested and is currently being held on a no bond warrant for charges including sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child sexual abuse material.'
Reported He pleaded not guilty at a preliminary hearing before a Stoddard County judge on 29 September 2026 and is next due in court on 22 October 2026.

Causal attribution. Court report by the Daily American Republic; no other inspected source covers the hearing.

  • darnews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'entered a plea of not guilty Tuesday, Sept. 29, during a preliminary hearing before Stoddard County Judge Leann Below.'; 'is next due in court Oct. 22'
Reported In August 2026 the Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force contacted the Dexter Police Department about a tip of suspicious internet activity; a warrant to search the suspect's social media applications and electronic devices yielded a significant amount of child sexual abuse material, and police say the investigation is ongoing and further charges may follow.

Causal attribution. The Dexter Police Department's account carried by KFVS12 and KWOC (one police chain). The Daily American Republic attributes the two-month investigation to the same police chief and the 21 September search warrant to the police-authored probable cause statement, so no independent chain supports this claim; its intake account also differs (a North Carolina task force received the cybertip on 20 April and the case was assigned to Dexter police on 30 July, see c5).

  • kfvs12.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The Dexter Police Department said in August, the Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force contacted one of its detectives about a tip involving suspicious internet activity.'; 'The investigation is active and ongoing. Additional charges may be filed as investigators continue to review evidence.'
  • kwoc.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'in August his department was contacted by the Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, regarding a tip of suspicious internet activity.'; 'a warrant was obtained to search the suspects social media applications and electronic devices, which yielded a significant amount of child sexual abuse material.'
  • darnews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The DPD conducted a two-month investigation'; 'A search warrant was obtained Sept. 21 for the residence'
Reported According to the probable cause statement as reported, the initial cybertip on 20 April 2026 came from a company, its name redacted, that operates a publicly accessible generative AI chatbot; the case passed from North Carolina to South Carolina law enforcement and was assigned to Dexter police on 30 July, with two other cybertips linked to it, and the statement describes files of sexually explicit images of an adult male and a young girl.

Causal attribution. Single newspaper account of the probable cause statement; the company is redacted and the report does not say whether the described files were AI-generated.

  • darnews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'A North Carolina task force received the initial cybertip April 20 regarding the possible possession, manufacture, or distribution of child pornography'; 'The tip came from an LLC whose company name was redacted in a probable cause filed with Stoddard County courts. The LLC operates a publicly accessible generative artificial intelligence chatbot.'; 'The case was assigned to the DPD jurisdiction July 30. DPD said there were two other cybertips linked to the case.'; 'The probable cause lists descriptions of multiple files of sexually explicit images of an adult male and a young girl.'; 'The case went from North Carolina law enforcement to South Carolina law enforcement before'
Reported The Daily American Republic reports, citing the Dexter Police Department and the probable cause statement, that he is a registered sex offender with prior South Carolina convictions for sexual exploitation of a minor in 2018 and 2023.

Causal attribution. Context for the charge wording (second subsequent offense) from one newspaper's account of the probable cause statement.

  • darnews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'registered sex offender for two cases of child sex crimes in South Carolina, according to the Dexter Police Department.'; 'he was convicted in 2018 in South Carolina for sexual exploitation of a minor.'; 'He was then convicted in 2023 in South Carolina of sexual exploitation of a minor.'
Reported KFVS12 reports from the Dexter Police Department that the Stoddard County Prosecutor and an assistant prosecutor filed the charges on 25 September 2026, that the exploitation counts are one Class A and one Class B felony and the three possession counts Class B felonies, and that he is held on a no-bond warrant; KWOC carries the no-bond detail from the police chief.

Causal attribution. Dexter Police Department statement carried by KFVS12 and KWOC (one chain).

  • kfvs12.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'On September 25, Stoddard County Prosecutor Sawyer Smith and Assistant Prosecutor Chase Dembowski formally charged'; 'One count of Class A felony of sexual exploitation of a minor'; 'One count of Class B felony of sexual exploitation of a minor'; 'Three counts of Class B felony of possession of child sexual abuse material - second subsequent offense or possess more than 20 pictures/one film/video'; 'is currently being held on a no-bond warrant at the Stoddard County Jail.'
  • kwoc.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'is currently being held on a no bond warrant for charges including sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child sexual abuse material.'

Sources

3 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 on 2026-09-30 from an Internet Archive capture (20260930031802) requested during this review because darnews.com answers HTTP 403 to this host; the article body was recovered from the page's embedded data payload (the page is marked not free to access). Court and probable-cause reporting by Donna Farley, Daily American Republic, published 29 September 2026; the Dexter police chief is also quoted. Applies to s1.

Read live on 2026-09-30 (KFVS12 Heartland News, Olivia Tock, 28 September 2026). Carries the Dexter Police Department's account of the investigation and the prosecutor's charges. Applies to s2.

Read live on 2026-09-30 (KWOC News, Today's Talk for 29 September 2026, Shawn Mannon). The Dexter police chief's account to the station; same police chain as KFVS12. Applies to s3.

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

The accused lives in Dexter, Missouri; the search, arrest and charges are in Stoddard County, Missouri, and the case is before the Stoddard County court (Daily American Republic, KFVS12, KWOC). Where the depicted children live is not stated.

Reviewed for publication 2026-09-30: Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated) consistent with existing AI child-abuse-image rows: a probable cause statement, as reported by the local newspaper, records that a man uploaded photographs of children to an AI generator to undress them, the first cybertip came from the company operating a generative AI chatbot, and he is charged with sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child sexual abuse material. The charges and investigation are carried by two local outlets from the police; the AI element rests on the newspaper's reading of the probable cause statement and the accused has pleaded not guilty. Neither the accused nor any child is named here.

People described

Children whose photographs were, according to the probable cause statement as reported, uploaded to an AI generator to undress them (not identified; number not reported)

People reported harmed in this case

Not reliably quantifiable from the sources

The probable cause statement, as reported, refers to photographs of children uploaded to an AI generator and to files depicting a young girl, but no count of real children depicted is reported. Unquantified, numeric placeholders 0.

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

Tags

#ai-csam#nudify#children#missouri#dexter#stoddard-county#criminal-charges

Cite this case

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

APA

NOPE. (2026). Dexter, Missouri: a 43-year-old man pleaded not guilty on 29 September 2026 to sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child sexual abuse material after a probable cause statement said he uploaded photographs of children to an AI generator to undress them; the statement, as reported, says the first cybertip came from a company operating a generative AI chatbot. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-dexter-missouri-man-charged-ai-undressed-photographs-of-children

BibTeX

@misc{2026_dexter_missouri_man_charged_ai_undressed_photographs_of_children,
  title = {Dexter, Missouri: a 43-year-old man pleaded not guilty on 29 September 2026 to sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child sexual abuse material after a probable cause statement said he uploaded photographs of children to an AI generator to undress them; the statement, as reported, says the first cybertip came from a company operating a generative AI chatbot},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-dexter-missouri-man-charged-ai-undressed-photographs-of-children}
}

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