A man who used AI to create images of child abuse using photographs of real children has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.
In the first prosecution of its kind in the UK, Hugh Nelson, 27, from Bolton, was found guilty of 16 offenses of child sexual abuse in August following an investigation by Greater Manchester Police (GMP).
Nelson had used Daz 3D, a computer program with artificial intelligence functionality, to transform “normal” images of children into images of sexual abuse, Greater Manchester Police said. In some cases, the images were commissioned by pedophiles, providing photographs of children they had contact with in real life.
He was also found guilty of encouraging other criminals to commit rape.
He sold his images in internet chat rooms, where he also discussed child sexual abuse with other offenders, earning around £5,000 over an 18-month period selling the images online.
While there have been previous convictions for “deepfakes,” which typically involve the transfer of a face onto another body, Nelson created 3D “characters” from innocent photographs.
Sentencing Nelson at Bolton Crown Court on Monday, Judge Martin Walsh said it was “impossible to know” whether the children had been raped as a result of his images. Walsh said Nelson failed to take into account the harm caused by the distribution of the “heartbreaking and disgusting” material.
He added: “There seems to be no limit to the depths of depravity displayed in the images you were willing to create and display to others.”
Nelson was caught after he told an undercover police officer in an online chat room that he was charging £80 to create a new character, using images provided, Bolton crown court heard.
“He said: ‘I’ve beaten, suffocated, hanged, drowned, decapitated, necro, beast, the list goes on’ with a laughing emoji,” said David Toal, for the prosecution.
The court heard Nelson was arrested in June last year. “He said he felt vile and that his mind was corrupt,” Toal said.
“He considered that his criminal behavior had gotten out of control,” he added.
Police searches of his devices also revealed that Nelson had exchanged messages with three different people, encouraging the rape of children under 13 years of age.
During the course of the investigation, agents identified suspects and victims around the world, including Italy, France and the United States.
Nelson was subsequently found guilty of encouraging the rape of a child under 13, attempting to incite a child under 16 to engage in a sexual act, distributing and making indecent images and possessing prohibited images.
Nelson appeared in the dock wearing a vest and tie. He greeted his parents in the public gallery when he arrived at court, but sat with his head bowed for most of the hearing.
Defending Nelson, Robert Elias told the court he had lived a “solitary life in the bedroom of his parents’ house”.
“What I was mainly looking for was validation, congratulations and a sense of belonging to a community. I was making relatively small amounts of money and desperately needed validation.
“He went down the rabbit hole into this kind of fantasy life and became completely absorbed in it. “It has caused his life to collapse around him, to the shock and horror of his immediate family.”
“It is extremely disturbing that Hugh Nelson was able to take ordinary photographs of children and, using artificial intelligence tools and a computer program, transform them and create images of the most depraved nature to sell and share them online,” said Jeanette Smith, a specialist prosecutor. of the Court. CPS said.
“Technology is evolving rapidly and, unfortunately, so is the risk to children. “I hope this conviction sends a clear message to those who exploit this technology and inflict harm on children: they will be vigorously pursued by authorities, prosecuted by the CPS and brought to justice.”
AI sexual abuse images present new challenges to policing, with other forces turning to the GMP for support for new investigations.
“The reason (this case) was very different because it challenges the kind of view of what an indecent image of a child is,” said DCI Jen Tattersall of GMP’s sex offender management unit.
He added: “The trend of computer-generated imagery is becoming increasingly prevalent, not just in GMP but in other forces,” he added, saying that in the last week, detectives had launched investigations into two new cases related to computer generated images. .
“Then, at some point, that will stop being the exception and will be the norm.”
The Nelson case was “the first to really test” the law around indecent images that had been digitally manipulated, he said, and GMP had worked with specialists from the CPS and the National Crime Agency to secure prosecutions.
In addition to technological advances, behavioral changes in recent years have made it more difficult to monitor Internet crime. “Covid has had a massive effect on the online space,” Tattersall said. “There are a lot more people online.”
“The number of platforms has just increased enormously, so it’s a real challenge,” he added.
While AI can present opportunities for law enforcement, Tattersall said, the increasingly sophisticated technology also presents a significant threat to police forces, particularly because there is a risk that it will evolve faster than existing criminal legislation.
He added: “The reality is that it is going to be a real challenge for us simply because of how easy it is to do and how easy it is to manipulate an image that is really innocent and turn it into something that is really abusive and indecent.”
However, he said the Nelson case “sends a clear message to criminals that you can use technology, manipulate things and test the flexibility of the law, but in reality we are still going to prosecute them. “We are going to put you in prison.”