Paedo who used AI to make vile child sex abuse pictures is jailed for 18 years in ‘deeply horrifying’ landmark case

A PAEDO who made thousands of pounds by creating child abuse images using AI and real pictures has been jailed for 18 years.

Hugh Nelson used a 3D character generator to transform normal, non-explicit, pictures of children into child abuse images.

GMP

The 27-year-old then sold them on an internet forum where he charged paedophiles £80 for a new “character”.

After that, it was £10 per image to alter them into different explicit positions.

Over 18-months, Nelson, from Bolton, made around £5,000.

Jeanette Smith, a specialist prosecutor for the CPS, said: “This is one of the first cases of its kind that demonstrates a link between people like Nelson, who are creating computer-generated images using technology, and the real-life offending that goes on behind that.”

While paedophiles have jailed for using AI to create child abuse images, this is the first time cops have been able to link the images to real children.

Police arrested Nelson at his family home in Egerton in June last year.

He admitted to officers he had a sexual interest mainly in girls aged about 12.

The children who Nelson was sent pictures of were all from France, Italy and the United States.

The relevant authorities in those countries have been made aware and more arrests have been made.