UK man jailed for AI-generating obscene images of women, then calling to assault them
“Deepfake abuse is abuse.”
Image by Cybernews
- Lewis Davison received a 2-year, 2-month prison sentence after admitting nine charges in Stafford Crown Court.
- Police said he shared AI-created indecent images on closed Telegram groups, with captions urging rape and assault.
- Davison will also stay on the sex offenders register for 10 years.
- The case highlights how generative AI harms women and girls, who remain key targets of sexual deepfakes.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
Lewis Davison, who used AI platforms to generate indecent images of women and a girl, has been sent behind bars.
A 26-year-old man posted multiple AI-created indecent images on closed Telegram groups. Some captions on these images called for the depicted women to be raped and assaulted, according to Staffordshire Police.
Davison was charged with 8 counts of publishing an obscene article and 1 count of permitting the taking of a pseudo-photograph of a child.
He admitted all charges, pleaded guilty at Stafford Crown Court on 27th August, and was sentenced to 2 years and 2 months' imprisonment.
In addition, Davison has also been placed on the sex offenders register for a decade.
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Police constable Matthew Asbury, who dealt with the investigation, said this type of crime can have a profound impact on victims.
“I can assure the local community that we will take every possible step to make sure those responsible are brought before the courts as quickly as possible,” he is quoted in a Staffordshire Police statement.
Women are disproportionately targeted
The case illustrates the risks that generative AI technology poses to women and girls.
The majority (98%) of all deepfakes are pornographic, and 99% of the individuals targeted are women, according to a 2023 report by cybersecurity firm Security Hero.
While the numbers may have changed in the last few years, women and girls remain disproportionately affected by the technology.
In early 2026, social media platform X was flooded with digitally undressed images of women and underage girls using the built-in chatbot, Grok, causing a global uproar and prompting governments to start investigations.
The Center for Countering Digital Hate estimates that 3 million sexualized images, including 23,000 of children, were posted during an 11-day period.
A rise in deepfakes of children
The UK laws prohibit sharing or threatening to share intimate photos or videos of someone without their permission, including deepfakes. The possession of images of a child that are intimate or depict sexual activity is also grossly illegal.
The legal situation may be a bit more murky in the US, as illustrated by a recent case of Steven Anderegg, who was initially charged with producing, distributing, and possessing AI child porn.
The US Court of Appeals, however, ruled that the possession charge was unconstitutional, because the First Amendment grants people the right to “possess obscenity in the privacy of their home.”
In addition, the Supreme Court rejected a ban on possessing this material in the home because the images did not depict real children.
While the children depicted in Anderegg’s pornographic materials don’t exist, generative AI is trained on the images of real people, including the youngest ones.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned in February 2026 of a rapid rise in the volume of AI-generated sexualized images of children.
Its statement reads: “We must be clear. Sexualised images of children generated or manipulated using AI tools are child sexual abuse material. Deepfake abuse is abuse, and there is nothing fake about the harm it causes.”
