Man Used Photos of Real Kids Supplied by Pedophiles to Generate AI Images of Child Porn in Exchange for Cash

A man was sentenced to nearly two decades in prison for creating and selling AI images of child abuse using real photographs, some of which were provided by pedophiles.

Hugh Nelson, 27, of Bolton, England, was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Monday after he was convicted of 16 counts of child sexual abuse, including encouraging the rape of a child under 13, attempting to incite a boy under 16 to engage in a sexual act, making and distributing indecent images, and possessing prohibited images.

Prosecutors learned Nelson was using an AI computer program to create the sexual abuse images using "normal" photographs of children, some of which were provided by pedophiles who commissioned the images.

Over 18 months, Nelson made about $6,500 selling the images in internet chat rooms, the same ones in which he encouraged others to rape minors, according to The Guardian.

An undercover police officer identified Nelson after he told him it would cost about $100 to create an image using a photo he supplied.

"He stated: 'I've done beatings, smotherings, hangings, drownings, beheadings, necro, beast, the list goes on' with a laughing emoji," the prosecutors stated, adding that Nelson "said he felt vile and that his mind was corrupted."

The judge addressed Nelson on Monday when he said, "There seems to be no limit to the depths of depravity exhibited in the images that you were prepared to create and exhibit to others."

Nelson's defense claimed he was living a "lonely bedroom life in his parents' home" and seeking "validation, congratulations and a sense of belonging in the community."

"He was earning relatively small amounts of money and desperately wanted validation," he said, according to The Guardian. "He plunged down the rabbit hole to this sort of fantasy life and became completely engrossed in it. He has brought his life crashing down around him, to the shock and horror of his immediate family."