Man shared fake AI image of naked schoolgirl in encrypted chat

About this record

This incident page is generated from structured reporting inputs and public sources. It is intended to support tracking and review, not to replace primary source verification.

Incident details

Incident ID: inc_2025_10_14_218e6e44
Date source: llm_extracted_from_article_text
Country: United Kingdom
Platform: Messaging App
Incident type: Non Consensual Synthetic Image
Verification level: reported_but_unverified

Harm types

Non Consensual Imagery Harassment Misinformation Reputational Harm

Topics

Deepfake Synthetic Image Image Manipulation Authenticity Harm Digital Identity Abuse

Summary

Scott Sheldon, 36, uploaded a photo of a 14-year-old girl known to him into an AI image-generation bot on the Telegram app and used it to produce 12 indecent pseudo‑images of the child. One of those AI-generated images, assessed by police as a Category C child sex abuse image, was distributed on an anonymous chat app called AnonChat on 2025-10-14.

Police executed a search of Sheldon’s Grangemouth home, seized a tablet containing 34 child sex abuse images and one video (categorized B and C), and charged him. Sheldon pleaded guilty to downloading and distributing child sex abuse images; sentencing was deferred for reports and assessments.

Sources

Man shared fake AI image of naked schoolgirl in encrypted chat

news.stv.tv · 2026-08-26 · Primary