--- title: "Man Imprisoned for 18 Years for Using AI to Do Disgusting Thing to Photos of Children" description: "Lock Him Up A British man has been sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison for using artificial intelligence to transform real photos of children into disgusting sexual abuse imagery. As The Guardian reports, the prosecution of 27-year-old Hugh Nelson is the first of its kind for the United Kingdom. After investigators caught wind of the […]" date: "2024-10-29" modified: "2024-10-29" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/man-imprisoned-ai-abuse-images" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "abuse" - "ai images" - "artificial intelligence" - "the digest" --- # Man Imprisoned for 18 Years for Using AI to Do Disgusting Thing to Photos of Children ![A British man has been sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison for using AI to transform real photos of children into something "depraved."]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Lock Him Up A British man has been sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison for using artificial intelligence to transform real photos of children into disgusting sexual abuse imagery. As [*The Guardian* reports](), the prosecution of 27-year-old Hugh Nelson is one of the first of its kind for the United Kingdom. After investigators caught wind of the Manchester-area man's scheme, which involved using the AI-enhanced image editing software Daz 3D to create pedophilic "artwork," he was convicted on August of 16 charges related to child sexual abuse. In some of the instances prosecutors highlighted during his trial, Nelson even took commissions from pedophiles he met in chatrooms who supplied him with photos of real children that they wanted to be transformed into abuse imagery. As the report notes, he made about 5,000 pounds, or roughly $6,486 USD, for the images. "There seems to be no limit to the depths of depravity exhibited in the images that you were prepared to create and exhibit to others," Nelson's prosecuting judge, Martin Walsh, said during the trial. Along with creating and selling the horrendous images, the man also encouraged others to rape children — and Walsh said it's "impossible to know" whether any real-life children had been abused due to his prodding. ## New Precedent Nelson was brought to justice, *The Guardian* explains, after an undercover officer posing as a pedophile contacted him in one of the chatrooms he frequented and supplied him with pictures, a fake commission request, and about $100 to execute the imagery. "He stated: 'I’ve done beatings, smotherings, hangings, drownings, beheadings, necro, beast, the list goes on’ with a laughing emoji," prosecutor David Toal said during the trial. After his arrest in June 2023, Nelson cried repentance. "He said he felt vile and that his mind was corrupted," the prosecutor added. "He considered that his offending had got out of control." Notably, Nelson isn't the first person in the UK to be prosecuted for making abusive imagery using AI. As [*The Guardian* reported]() earlier this year, a 17-year-old from the Welsh town of Denbighshire was convicted in February under the UK's old laws about the creation of "pseudo photographs" after being found with hundreds of "extreme" child sex abuse images using AI. Strangely enough, that conviction wasn't reported until months later as an addendum to an article about an adult sex offender who'd been barred from using AI tools without police permission. Around the world, we're beginning to see [more and more]() of these kinds of cases. As they move through the courts, we'll start seeing [more prosecutions](). **More on AI abuse:** [*AI Chatbot Urged 14-Year-Old to "Go Through With" Suicide When He Expressed Doubt*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()