The High Court of Western Denmark has significantly increased the sentence for a 29-year-old man who used artificial intelligence to create and distribute child sexual abuse material. The man’s original sentence of one year and three months, with only three months to be served, has been increased to one year and six months of unconditional imprisonment.

The case is considered one of the first of its kind involving abusive material generated using AI. The High Court’s ruling clarifies the legal standing of AI-generated abusive content, equating it to material depicting real abuse.

The man produced over 36,000 images of children in sexual situations and distributed them through a subscription service, earning approximately 25,000 kroner. The prosecution emphasized the severity and large volume of images, as well as the defendant’s profit from their distribution, as justification for the increased sentence.

Special prosecutor Emil Stenbygaard expressed satisfaction with the High Court’s decision, emphasizing the need to prevent abusive material in all forms. The case has led to international police cooperation, with Europol identifying 273 buyers of the material.

During the initial district court proceedings, the man claimed he was unaware his actions were criminal, arguing that if the children in the images were not real, there were no actual victims.