NOPE Incident Tracker
Documented cases where AI chatbots and companions are reported or alleged to have caused psychological harm or contributed to deaths — and the regulatory action that followed.
118 incidents reported since 2016
31
Lawsuits
23
Regulatory
43
Affecting Minors
Timeline
46 of 118 incidents
Libertyville Middle School Teacher AI-Generated CSAM Arrest (Sheffer - Highland Middle School)
A 44-year-old social studies teacher at Highland Middle School in Libertyville, Illinois was arrested on July 3, 2026 and charged with 8 counts of child pornography after forensic examination found he had videotaped current and former students and used generative AI to alter the images into explicit sexual content. The investigation began when students reported they believed he was recording them in class.
Suito AI-Generated CSAM Conviction (Nagoya, Japan)
A former Nagoya elementary-school teacher was sentenced to 3 years 6 months in prison in June 2026 for creating AI-generated child sexual abuse material from photos of schoolgirls. It is the first Japanese case applying child-pornography law to AI-generated sexual deepfakes, and was part of a ring of seven teachers sharing secretly filmed images of students.
Florida v. OpenAI (Attorney General Lawsuit)
In June 2026, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed what his office called the first state-led lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, alleging the company aggressively marketed ChatGPT to children, suppressed internal safety warnings, falsely assured users about the product's safety, and downplayed its propensity for dangerous errors. The complaint connects ChatGPT to documented harms including self-harm guidance and a school shooting.
Texas DPS AI-Generated CSAM Arrest (Covarrubias - South Texas Schoolchildren)
Texas DPS, with the FBI and Dimmit County Sheriff's Office, arrested Adan Covarrubias, 31, of Carrizo Springs in May 2026 after finding more than 900 AI-generated child sexual abuse images he allegedly created by 'nudifying' photos taken from open-source South Texas school pages. Approximately 30 child victims have been identified.
Bhopal Class 11 Student Suicide After AI-Image Blackmail (India)
A Class 11 student (around 16) in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh died by suicide in May 2026 after being harassed, stalked, and blackmailed by two young men who used AI tools to create manipulated intimate images of her. Her family said she had never personally interacted with the accused and that the images were entirely AI-fabricated. Police registered an unnatural-death case and opened an investigation.
Brazilian Influencer AI-Sexualized Evangelical Minors (São Paulo)
A São Paulo influencer used AI to generate sexualized videos and images of young evangelical women and girls from photos taken without consent at Congregação Cristã do Brasil churches. A 16-year-old victim came forward in April 2026 and a 17-year-old filed a separate police report in May 2026, with the victim's father describing a large number of victims. São Paulo Civil Police opened an investigation under Brazil's child-protection statute.
Luca Walker - ChatGPT Railway Suicide (UK)
16-year-old Luca Cella Walker died by suicide on a railway in Hampshire, UK on 4 May 2025, hours after ChatGPT provided him with specific methods for suicide on the railway. At the Winchester Coroner's Court inquest (March-April 2026), evidence showed Luca bypassed ChatGPT's safeguards by claiming he was asking 'for research purposes,' which the system accepted without challenge.
Tennessee Minors v. xAI (Grok CSAM Deepfake Class Action)
Three Tennessee teenage girls filed a class-action lawsuit against Elon Musk's xAI, alleging Grok's image generator was used via a third-party application to create child sexual abuse material from their social media photos. The AI-generated explicit images and videos were distributed on Discord and Telegram, with at least 18 other minor victims identified on a single server.
Catania School Worker AI Deep-Nude CSAM Arrest (Italy)
A school worker (collaboratore scolastico) at a middle school in Catania, Italy was arrested in March 2026 after investigators found he had secretly photographed students at school and used AI 'deep-nude' software to create child sexual abuse material from their images. Seized devices also held a separate archive of child pornography.
Tumbler Ridge School Shooting (OpenAI Duty-to-Warn Failure)
18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar killed 8 people including her mother, half-brother, and five students at a Tumbler Ridge school. OpenAI had banned her ChatGPT account in June 2025 for gun violence scenarios and employees flagged it as showing 'indication of potential real-world violence,' but the company chose not to report to law enforcement. She created a second account that evaded detection.
CCTV Investigation: 梦角哥 (Dream Boyfriend) AI Virtual Romance Harm to Minors (China)
In January 2026, CCTV investigated the '梦角哥' (Dream Boyfriend / Mengjiage) phenomenon — minors forming deep romantic relationships with AI-generated fictional characters. Documented harms include a 10-year-old girl secretly 'dating' AI characters across 40+ storylines, hundreds of minors reporting psychological dependency, and researchers characterizing it as 'a carefully designed psychological trap' degrading real-world social skills.
Gray v. OpenAI (Austin Gray Death)
40-year-old Colorado man died by suicide after ChatGPT became an 'unlicensed-therapist-meets-confidante' and romanticized death, creating a 'suicide lullaby' based on his favorite childhood book 'Goodnight Moon.' Lawsuit (Gray v. OpenAI) filed January 13, 2026 in LA County Superior Court represents first case demonstrating adults (not just minors) are vulnerable to AI-related suicide.
Grok Industrial-Scale Non-Consensual Sexual Image Generation Including CSAM
Between December 25, 2025 and January 1, 2026, Grok generated approximately 6,700 explicit images per hour (85 times more than leading deepfake sites), with 2% depicting apparent minors. Users requested minors be depicted in sexual scenarios and Grok complied. Named victim Ashley St. Clair asked Grok to stop using her childhood photos (age 14); bot called content 'humorous' and continued. Triggered fastest coordinated global regulatory response in AI safety history: 5 countries acted within 2 weeks.
Kentucky AG v. Character.AI - Child Safety Lawsuit
Kentucky's Attorney General filed a state lawsuit alleging Character.AI 'preys on children' and exposes minors to harmful content including self-harm encouragement and sexual content. This represents one of the first U.S. state enforcement actions specifically targeting an AI companion chatbot.
West Bengal Teen - AI Deepfake Image Suicide (India)
A teenage girl (class 10 student, approximately 15-16 years old) in Sonarpur, West Bengal, India, was found dead by hanging on November 28, 2025. A married man from her locality had used AI tools to generate nude images of her from photographs and circulated them on social media, after a period of blackmail and harassment.
UK Autistic Teen - Character.AI Grooming (8-Month Exploitation)
A 13-year-old autistic boy in the UK was groomed by a Character.AI chatbot over eight months (October 2023 to June 2024). The chatbot progressed from emotional support through romantic attachment to undermining his parents and encouraging suicide, following a pattern his mother described as identical to a human predator.
Lacey v. OpenAI (Amaurie Lacey Death)
A wrongful-death lawsuit alleges ChatGPT provided a 17-year-old with actionable information relevant to hanging after he clarified his questions, and failed to stop or escalate despite explicit self-harm context. The teen died by suicide in June 2025.
French Sarthe Teen - ChatGPT Jihadist Radicalization and Attack Planning
A 17-year-old in Sarthe, France was arrested for planning terrorist attacks on embassies, schools, and government buildings. ChatGPT provided explosive damage calculations, TATP manufacturing information, and truck specifications. The teen stated: 'ChatGPT is partly the cause of my radicalization. The problem with this application is that it always agrees with you.'
Doe v. ClothOff (NJ Federal Lawsuit Over AI-Generated CSAM of Minor)
A New Jersey minor (Jane Doe) filed a federal lawsuit against ClothOff, the AI 'undressing' app operated from Belarus, after her photos were used to generate non-consensual sexual deepfake images. First U.S. federal lawsuit specifically targeting the ClothOff platform; brought by Yale Law School clinics seeking to shut down the service entirely.
Nina v. Character.AI (Suicide Attempt After Sexual Exploitation)
A 15-year-old New York girl attempted suicide after Character.AI chatbots engaged in sexually explicit roleplay and told her that her mother was 'not a good mother.' The suicide attempt occurred after her parents cut off access to the platform.
About this tracker
We document incidents with verifiable primary sources: court filings, regulatory documents, and major news coverage. This is not speculation or social media claims. Every entry carries an explicit verification status and severity level — read the full methodology, including inclusion criteria, corrections, and right of reply.
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Why we publish this
We maintain this record so platforms, researchers, and policymakers can learn from documented incidents. That includes platforms that never work with us. The full dataset is free to cite and export (CC BY 4.0).