A man has been jailed for 18 years for the sexual abuse of two children. Paul Pender, 58, committed historical offences against two children who were both aged under 12 at the time, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

The content investigated in Operation Cumberland was “fully artificial” with “no real victim depicted,” but AI-generated child sexual abuse material “still contributes to the objectification and sexualization of children,

Europol has conducted a sting operation against a group whose members engage in the distribution of images of minors fully generated by artificial intelligence.

A criminal group of 273 known suspects creates and disseminates the images online in exchange for payment. 'More arrests are expected in the coming weeks,' Europol says.

Law enforcement authorities in 19 countries have conducted a "large-scale hit against child sexual exploitation," supported by Europol, the European police agency announced in The Hague on Friday. "The suspects were part of a criminal group whose members were engaged in the distribution of images of minors fully generated by artificial intelligence (AI),