2 Edmonton students accused of using AI to make sexually explicit images of classmates

Source Domain: globalnews.ca

The Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team’s Internet Child Exploitation Unit (ICE) has charged two Edmonton students with using artificial intelligence to make child sexual exploitation images of several classmates.

Several students from an Edmonton junior high school have been identified as victims.

Investigators said a teacher at the school brought the allegations to the attention of police in late March 2026, acting on complaints from the students.

“There was discussion throughout the school that these existed and those concerns were brought forward to teachers,” said Staff Sgt. Alison Church with the joint police agency.

Church said photos of several girls were taken without their consent. Those photos and others pulled from social media were then used to develop the exploitative images with AI software. Investigators allege the boys shared the images with each other on their phones.

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The two boys, both 14 years of age, are accused of taking photos of girls without their consent, as well as taking photos from their social media accounts and sexualizing them using AI software.

Const. Stephanie Bosch with the ALERT Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit said she and her team are still sorting out what software was used to create the images.

The case has left the girls with intense feelings of shame and embarrassment, she said.

“There is a misconception that because it’s AI, it’s not real, that the impact is not significant,” Bosch said.

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“These are very convincing images, and that’s why the impact on victims is so significant … think about how that would impact a teenager, especially considering that it impacts how their peers may view them.”

ALERT is encouraging parents to have serious…

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