A 27-year-old British man, Hugh Nelson, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to several sexual offenses, including making and distributing indecent images of children. The court in Bolton Crown Court, near Manchester, heard that Nelson used artificial intelligence technology to create explicit images of children being harmed both sexually and physically.
Nelson took commissions from individuals in online chatrooms for custom explicit images and used AI software from a U.S. company, Daz 3D, to generate these images. The company's software, Daz Studio 3D rendering software, has an “AI function” that Nelson misused to create and distribute these harmful images.
Police in Manchester described this case as a landmark for their online child abuse investigation team. Nelson, who has a master's degree in graphics, also used real images of children for some of his computer-generated artwork.
The court heard that Nelson intended to encourage others to commit child rape through his images, although it was impossible to determine if any actual abuse occurred as a result. Prosecutors emphasized the disturbing nature of Nelson's actions, transforming normal photographs of children into depraved images for sale and sharing online.
This case highlights the challenges posed by the misuse of AI technology in creating child sexual exploitation imagery. While current U.K. legislation does not specifically address the use of computer programs in this manner, law enforcement agencies are working to address this issue.
This case is part of a broader trend of law enforcement efforts to combat the spread of child sexual abuse imagery created through artificial intelligence technology. The U.S. Justice Department recently brought a federal case involving purely AI-generated imagery, marking a significant step in addressing this disturbing phenomenon.
