Man arrested in northern Spain accused of using AI to create child pornography

Spanish police have arrested a man in the northern Basque province of Álava on suspicion of using artificial intelligence tools to create child pornography images.

The National Police investigation began in August when cyber agents first became aware of the material circulating on the internet through international cooperation channels and cyber patrolling and monitoring work.

However, locating the suspect proved particularly complex due to advanced anonymisation techniques the suspect used to conceal his identity online.

Investigators finally tracked the suspect down to Álava and located him on 18 November. After obtaining judicial authorisation, they entered and searched his home where he was arrested on charges of corruption of minors through the production and possession of child pornography.

During the search, police seized a large amount of material. According to police sources, some of the images had been created through the use of AI tools.

The suspect had also taken photographs of minors in public spaces, including streets and municipal swimming pools, and used AI to manipulate them into sexualised images by digitally removing their clothing.

The case is the latest in a series of AI-enabled child abuse material investigations in Spain. In December 2022, National Police in Valladolid made what they described as the first discovery of child sexual abuse material created using AI, involving images of extreme severity.

In October 2023, a 17-year-old computer science student was arrested in the Catalan municipality of Súria for producing and distributing AI-generated child pornography.

The teenager had been storing such material since age 14 and was offering a service to transform any photo of a minor into pornographic images.