{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-20T06:15:22.596Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"ai_altered_images","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":2,"coverage":{"cases":2,"countries":1,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":1,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":2,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":2,"coreRelations":2,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2026-london-met-police-say-man-used-ai-to-turn-covert-photos-of-women-and-children-into-sexual-images-sentenced","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"had taken photos of women and children in ordinary circumstances before using AI to turn them into sexually explicit images, including by removing their clothing.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Detectives established that the man photographed women and children in ordinary circumstances and then used AI to turn the photos into sexually explicit images, including by removing their clothing.","causal_attribution":"The investigating police attribute the sexualised images to AI after examining his phone; the tool is not named."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Many of the photos were taken from his bedroom window, which overlooked a children’s playground. ... had also taken more than 5,000 images of women and girls in public places. ... Some of these images had been digitally manipulated to create sexualised content by altering clothing and appearance.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Many of the photos were taken from his bedroom window overlooking a children's playground, and forensic examination found more than 5,000 images of women and girls in public places, some digitally manipulated to create sexualised content.","causal_attribution":"Police description of the source photographs and the manipulated images."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"A limited number of those photographed have been identified and are receiving specialist support, but officers still need to identify many more. ... The nature of his offending has understandably left those who have learned of it feeling unsettled and violated","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"A limited number of those photographed have been identified and are receiving specialist support; the investigating officer says those who learned of the offending feel unsettled and violated.","causal_attribution":"Police account of the effect on identified victims."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"The result was that a victim and their family found themselves living in close proximity to a man who had admitted targeting them. They were so fearful, ultimately felt forced to move to distant temporary accommodation ... using an AI photo editing technology to manipulate those images","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The Commissioner says a victim and their family felt forced to move to distant temporary accommodation because the man was bailed to his home near them, and that he used an AI photo editing technology.","causal_attribution":"The Commissioner links the move to the bail decision and to living near a man who had admitted targeting them; he separately says the man used an AI photo editing technology on photos of children known to him. The release does not say whether this family's children appear in the manipulated images."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"was sentenced to 2 years and 4 months today (Thursday, 24 September) at Wood Green Crown Court. ... On Thursday, 6 August he pleaded guilty to the following offences but was bailed by the court to await sentencing","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"He pleaded guilty on 6 August 2026 to offences including making indecent images of children and creating a purported intimate image of adults, and was sentenced on 24 September 2026 at Wood Green Crown Court to two years and four months.","causal_attribution":"Court outcome as announced by the police."}],"effects":[{"label":"covert photos of women and children turned into sexual images with AI","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"a victim's family felt forced to move while the offender was on bail","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://news.met.police.uk/news/man-sentenced-after-using-ai-to-create-sexually-explicit-images-of-children-513236","kind":"official_statement","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-20; HTTP 200. Metropolitan Police newsroom release of 24 September 2026; no translation needed.","independence_group":"met-police-24-sep-2026"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["privacy","justice"],"unknowns":["Which AI tool was used.","How many people were depicted in manipulated images and how many have been identified.","When the offending began."],"geography":{"basis":"The police say many photos were taken from his bedroom window overlooking a playground and others in the surrounding area, and the police appeal is addressed to the Enfield area of London, so the photography and the affected people are in the United Kingdom; sentencing was at Wood Green Crown Court.","court_countries":["GB"],"event_countries":["GB"],"affected_person_countries":["GB"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): the Metropolitan Police say detectives established that a man used AI to turn covert photos of women and children into sexually explicit images; identified victims are receiving support and the Commissioner says one family felt forced to move. Single official source; no victim is identified.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-20"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Metropolitan Police say detectives established that the man used AI to turn photos he took of women and children into sexually explicit images, including by removing their clothing, and the Commissioner says he used an AI photo editing technology to manipulate images of children known to him. The AI-made sexual depictions of real people are the abuse at issue; identified victims are receiving support and one family felt forced to move. The tool is not named.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Met Police say a man used AI to turn covert photos of women and children into sexual images; a victim's family moved away while he was on bail","summary":"The Metropolitan Police said on 24 September 2026 that a man from London had been sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court to two years and four months after pleading guilty to offences including making indecent images of children and creating a purported intimate image of adults. Detectives established that he had photographed women and children in ordinary circumstances, many from his bedroom window overlooking a children's playground, before using AI to turn the photos into sexually explicit images, including by removing their clothing. A limited number of those photographed have been identified and are receiving specialist support. The Commissioner said a victim and their family felt forced to move to temporary accommodation because the man was bailed to his home near them before sentencing.","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-09-24","aiSystem":"An AI photo editing technology, as the Commissioner describes it, that the man used to sexualise photographs of women and children (tool not named)","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the Met Police, a man used AI to turn covert photos of women and children into sexually explicit images; identified victims are receiving specialist support, and the Commissioner says one victim's family felt forced to move while he was on bail.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"outward","causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"partial","affectedCountEvidence":"One victim, whose family the Commissioner says felt forced to move, is counted as harmed in this case (the release does not say whether that victim appears in the AI-manipulated images); the police say a limited number of other identified people are receiving support but give no number, and the 5,000 photographed people are not all described as depicted in manipulated images.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"GB","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://news.met.police.uk/news/man-sentenced-after-using-ai-to-create-sexually-explicit-images-of-children-513236","primarySourceLabel":"Metropolitan Police, 24 Sep 2026: Man sentenced after using AI to create sexually explicit images of children","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-20T03:20:16.758562+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-20T03:20:16.758562+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["ai_altered_images","covert_photography","sexualised_images_of_children","guilty_plea","united_kingdom"]},{"id":"2023-greater-manchester-prosecutors-say-man-used-ai-to-turn-photos-of-real-children-into-abuse-images-sold-to-order-jailed","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"used a computer programme and AI technology to alter photographs of real children to create sexual abuse images","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"A student who used AI technology \"in the worst possible way\" to turn photographs of real children into \"depraved\" indecent images has been jailed for 18 years.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The CPS says the man used a computer programme and AI technology to alter photographs of real children to create sexual abuse images.","causal_attribution":"The prosecuting authority, which examined the evidence from his seized devices, attributes the images to AI technology; the BBC court report repeats it, partly quoting the CPS, so it is one prosecution origin. The tool is not named."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"accepted requests from individuals who wanted him to create explicit images depicting children being harmed both sexually and physically, which he either sold in exchange for money or shared to others for free. Some of these computer-generated images requested used images of real children.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"The court heard he took requests from people who wanted him to create explicit images of children being harmed both sexually and physically.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"According to the CPS, he accepted requests in encrypted chatrooms to create explicit images of children being harmed, sold or shared them, and some of the requested images used images of real children; he admitted making around 5,000 pounds over 18 months.","causal_attribution":"Prosecution account of how the AI-altered images were commissioned and distributed."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"previously pleading guilty to a total of 16 charges relating to child sexual abuse offences. ... On 28 October 2024, he was sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment with an additional 6 years on extended licence.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"who pleaded guilty to 16 child sexual abuse offences, also encouraged the rape of children in online chatrooms.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"He pleaded guilty to 16 child sexual abuse offences, including three counts of encouraging the rape of a child under 13, and on 28 October 2024 was sentenced at Bolton Crown Court to 18 years' imprisonment with an additional six years on extended licence.","causal_attribution":"Court outcome; the encouragement offences concern chatroom messages, not the AI images."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"The misuse of emerging technology to create this material is a serious crime which can have a real impact on victims. Real children are being victimised through the creation of this content.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The CPS prosecutor said real children are victimised through the creation of such content.","causal_attribution":"Prosecutor's statement of harm; no individual child's experience is described."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"after he was first arrested in June 2023 by Greater Manchester Police, and a number of his digital devices were seized and examined.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"His offences were uncovered when he began speaking to an undercover police officer in May last year.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Greater Manchester Police arrested him in June 2023 and examined his devices; the BBC court report says the offences were uncovered when he spoke to an undercover officer.","causal_attribution":"Investigation chronology; the BBC's 'May last year' (2023) is the court report's wording."}],"effects":[{"label":"real children's photographs altered with AI into sexual abuse images sold to order","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.cps.gov.uk/cps/news/man-who-used-ai-technology-create-child-sexual-abuse-images-jailed","kind":"official_statement","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-20; HTTP 200. Crown Prosecution Service press release of 28 October 2024; no translation needed.","independence_group":"cps-28-oct-2024"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq6l241z5mjo","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-20; HTTP 200. BBC court report of the sentencing hearing, quoting the judge, the prosecutor, the police and the CPS.","independence_group":"bbc-court-report-28-oct-2024"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["privacy","justice"],"unknowns":["Which AI tool and computer programme were used.","How many real children were depicted and whether any were identified or informed.","When the 18-month period of selling began; the sources date only the June 2023 arrest and the 2023 and 2024 pleas."],"geography":{"basis":"The case was investigated by Greater Manchester Police and sentenced at Bolton Crown Court, United Kingdom (GB). The images were made and traded online and the BBC says some requests came from abroad; the sources do not say where the depicted children live or where the images were made, so no event or affected-person country is recorded.","court_countries":["GB"],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): the Crown Prosecution Service says the man used AI technology to alter photographs of real children into sexual abuse images he made to order and sold, and the BBC court report gives the same account of the 2024 sentencing. No child is identified; the defendant is not named in the record.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-20"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Crown Prosecution Service, which brought the case after police examined his seized devices, says the man used a computer programme and AI technology to alter photographs of real children into sexual abuse images that he made to order and sold or shared; the BBC court report of the sentencing gives the same account. The AI-altered depictions of real children are the abuse material at the centre of the offences. The tool is not named in the sources read.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"UK prosecutors say a Greater Manchester man used AI tools to turn photos of real children into sexual abuse images he sold to order; jailed for 18 years in 2024","summary":"The Crown Prosecution Service said on 28 October 2024 that a man from Bolton had been sentenced at Bolton Crown Court to 18 years' imprisonment with an additional six years on extended licence after pleading guilty to 16 child sexual abuse offences. According to the CPS, he used a computer programme and AI technology to alter photographs of real children into sexual abuse images, which he made to order for people in encrypted chatrooms and sold or shared, and some of the requested images used images of real children. The CPS says he admitted making about 5,000 pounds over 18 months. He was arrested by Greater Manchester Police in June 2023. The BBC court report says the offences were uncovered when he spoke to an undercover officer. He also admitted encouraging the rape of children under 13 in chatrooms.","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2024-10-28","aiSystem":"A computer programme and AI technology that, according to the CPS, the man used to alter photographs of real children into sexual abuse images (tool not named in the sources read)","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","severity":"critical","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the CPS, a man used AI technology to alter photographs of real children into sexual abuse images that he made to order and sold or shared in chatrooms; prosecutors say real children are victimised through such content.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"outward","causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"unquantified","affectedCountEvidence":"No count: the CPS says some requested images used images of real children but gives no number of children depicted. The '60 characters' in the BBC court report are characters he described, not a count of real children.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"GB","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.cps.gov.uk/cps/news/man-who-used-ai-technology-create-child-sexual-abuse-images-jailed","primarySourceLabel":"Crown Prosecution Service, 28 Oct 2024: Man who used AI technology to create child sexual abuse images jailed","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-20T03:18:07.543351+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-20T03:18:07.543351+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["ai_altered_images","child_sexual_abuse_material","images_made_to_order","guilty_plea","united_kingdom"]}]}