"If the child is not real, then, for me, it's not illegal." On January 8, 2025, a 29-year-old man appeared before the court in Randers, Denmark, in a landmark case. A few weeks earlier, police had forced open his apartment door and found him at his computer, actively viewing child sexual abuse images that were generated using an artificial intelligence (AI) program. Investigators found 36,209 such files in his possession.

This single man, previously unknown to police, generated several thousand such images per month, offering them for sale online. During the investigation, he even boasted of being among the world's top 10 in the field, capable of producing increasingly realistic images of children of all ages.

On the day of the trial, the prosecutor, frustrated by the defense's justification, asked if he believed he had "done a good deed." The man dared to answer yes, according to Danish public broadcaster TV 2. "I think it prevented some internet users from seeking out photos of real children. And it stopped real children from being abused." The well-worn argument did not spare him from prison. He was sentenced to one year and three months in detention. Some of his customers were also implicated as part of a sweeping operation led by Europol, which identified 273 suspects and made 25 arrests in 19 countries, including France.

'The threat is growing'

While arrests remain rare, AI-generated child sexual abuse images are multiplying online. "This is becoming a real problem for us; it is a threat that is growing and accelerating," warned Catherine De Bolle, executive director of Europol. To create these images, "you don't need a lot of skills, you don't need a child, you don't need to commit actual violence. You just need a computer."

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