18 years in prison for man who created child abuse images on computer

A shy and socially isolated man who “desperately wanted validation” when he created obscene computer-generated images of children to sell to other pedophiles has been jailed for 18 years.

Hugh Nelson, 27, from Bolton, Manchester, agreed to requests from individuals via online chat rooms for “bespoke” explicit images depicting him being harmed both sexually and physically.

The former student, who has a master’s degree in graphics, also used real images of children for some of his computer-generated “artworks”, Bolton Crown Court heard.

Nelson frequently discussed child sexual abuse with other chat room users and encouraged the rape of children under 13 on three separate occasions.

The Probation Service concluded that he posed the highest category of danger to the public.

His father sat in the public gallery at the court next to Nelson’s mother, who had her head bowed and sobbed into the crook of her arm as their son was jailed via video link from HMP Forest Bank.

Sentencing, Judge Martin Walsh, Honorary Recorder of Bolton, said: “There appears to be no limit to the depth of depravity displayed in the images you were prepared to create and distribute to others.

“The nature and content of your communications are extremely chilling.”

He ordered Nelson to serve six years on license after his release from prison and sign the Sex Offender Register for life.

Judge Walsh told Nelson it was impossible to tell whether a child had actually been sexually abused because of his photographs, but that he intended to encourage others to rape children and had “no idea” how his photographs would be used.

Earlier, David Toal, who prosecuted the case, said the case stemmed from Operation Impact, an investigation into “trends in the creation and development of AI (artificial intelligence) in relation to child sexual exploitation”.

He added: “The use of artificial intelligence is rapidly evolving and images are becoming more realistic.”

The defendant was revealed to be the administrator of a pedophile chat room while chatting with an undercover police officer in May last year.

Nelson told the officer that he received kickbacks from customers for images created by 3D modeling software and continued to send computer-generated images depicting the sexual abuse of children.

Mr Toal said: “The defendant said he had over 60 characters in total, ranging from six months to middle-aged, and charged £80 to create a new character.

“He also said, ‘I’ve done beatings, strangulation, hanging, suffocation, decapitation, necro, monster, the list goes on,’ with a laughing emoji.”

The defendant continued: “Creating 3D porn could get me a prison sentence,” and later added: “Most of the people who give me assignments can’t fuck their nieces, nephews, daughters, etc. I see myself providing a valuable service.”

Nelson, who had no previous convictions, was arrested at his parents’ home in Egerton, Bolton, in June last year and told police he had a sexual interest in girls, mostly around the age of 12.

He said he met like-minded people online and eventually started creating images for sale because he thought crime was “getting out of control.”

Various devices were seized and found to contain large amounts of indecent images as well as online chats with adults in France, Italy and the United States regarding the sexual abuse and rape of children; However, although there was no evidence before the court, the child was sexually or physically assaulted.

Bob Elias, defending, said Nelson was a “shy, rude man” who led a “lonely, socially isolated existence” in his bedroom at his parents’ home.

He said: “What he was primarily looking for was validation, congratulations and a sense of belonging to a community.

“He was making relatively small amounts of money and desperately wanted validation.

“He dived down the rabbit hole into this kind of fantasy life and was completely immersed in it.

“To the shock and horror of his immediate family, his life was devastated.”

The court heard Nelson realized the depravity of his actions and apologized in a letter to the judge.

The defendant admitted a number of sexual offenses at the hearing, including knowingly encouraging or assisting the commission of rape of a child under 13, producing and distributing indecent images of children, and attempting to induce sexual intercourse with a child under 16. activity

Outside court, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) specialist prosecutor Jeanette Smith said: “It is extremely disturbing that Hugh Nelson was able to take normal photographs of children and use artificial intelligence tools and a computer program to transform them and create images that were most immoral to sell and share online.” nature

“Technology is developing rapidly and unfortunately the risks for children are also increasing.

“I hope this conviction sends a clear message to those who abuse this technology and harm children: you will be pursued closely by law enforcement, prosecuted by the CPS and brought to justice.”

Detective Chief Inspector Jen Tattersall, head of Greater Manchester Police’s Online Child Exploitation Investigation Team, said: “Nelson is an extremely dangerous man who thought he could get away with what he did by using modern technology.

“He was wrong and now feels the full force of the law for his actions.”

Derek Ray-Hill, interim chief executive of the Internet Watch Foundation, said: “Technology now enables abuses against previously innocent children to take place.

“We are discovering more and more synthetic and AI images of child sexual abuse, and they can be disturbingly lifelike.

“Children deserve safety, and misuse of this technology is a nightmare that risks making the internet a worse and more dangerous place for everyone.”