A classroom is seen at Wazoson Public School of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) in Ottawa, on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
JDTEDMONTON - Alberta police are encouraging parents to have serious conversations with their children about being online after artificial intelligence was used to develop exploitative photos of a group of girls.
"We're not having conversations about the harm that could happen," Const. Stephanie Bosch with the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams said Wednesday.聽
"This is a new phenomenon."
Two 14-year-old boys have been charged with making and possessing child sexual exploitation materials and voyeurism.
Police began investigating after a teacher at the school reported the images in late March.
"There was discussion throughout the school that these existed and those concerns were brought forward to teachers," said Staff Sgt. Alison Church with the joint police agency.
Church said photos of several girls were taken without their consent. Those photos and others pulled from social media were then used to develop the exploitative images with AI software.
Investigators allege the boys shared the images with each other on their phones.
Bosch said she and her team are still sorting out what software was used to create the images.
She said the case has left the girls with intense feelings of shame and embarrassment.
"There is a misconception that because it's AI, it's not real, that the impact is not significant," Bosch said.
"These are very convincing images, and that's why the impact on victims is so significant ... think about how that would impact a teenager, especially considering that it impacts how their peers may view them."
Church said AI-generated exploitative images are common.
"Anecdotally, we are hearing about this starting to happen in the schools," Church said. "Sadly, this is a reality of the challenges that youth, parents and police are facing with advancements in technology."
She added that a similar case in Calgary led to a charge against a high school student in December.
Ottawa is working on legislation that would ban children under 16 from social media and address deepfake images.
She said developers of nudifying AI tools should be held accountable.
In the meantime, investigators want parents to have serious conversations with their children.
Church said youth who use AI to develop nude images need to be told what they're doing is illegal.
"These are serious crimes. You will be held accountable," she said.
Bosch said parents also need to teach their children about what online grooming and healthy relationships look like.
This report by 好色tvwas first published June 17, 2026.
Note to readers:This is a corrected story. A previous version described Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams as the province's police watchdog.
The 好色tv Press
Most 好色tvs grow up with the dream of owning their own home鈥攁 milestone that me…
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Tax: | |
| Today's total: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
