Harlow: Sex offender jailed for creating AI child abuse images

This is not a victimless crime. Using artificial intelligence (AI) to make indecent images of children is abhorrent and increasing the risk of harm to children in both the digital and real worlds.
It is right that offenders who target children are brought before the courts to be sentenced for their crimes.
We are committed to safeguarding children; their welfare is our priority and teams across the force are dedicated to stopping those who have, or who intend, to cause them harm.
This is why Essex Police has launched a campaign with BT and EE – Fake or Real? Know the Deal – to protect families in the age of deepfake.

Jai Rivers, an officer in our Management of Sexual Offenders and Violent Offenders team (MOSOVO), spoke after Adam Evans was jailed for making indecent images of children via an AI-enabled app.

Registered sex offender Evans, from Harlow, is subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order after being convicted of attempting to arrange/facilitate the commission of a child sexual offence and attempting to cause/incite a child to engage in sexual activity in October 2019.

As part of this order, he is subject to regular monitoring by the MOSOVO team. In September 2025 they were alerted via risk management software on his device that indecent images had been accessed via an AI application.

A total of 13 pseudo indecent images of children had been accessed, and these were described by officers as being ‘so realistic’ that they could reasonably be perceived as depicting real children.

The 51-year-old was swiftly arrested by officers from Harlow local policing team. Following a through search a device, not registered as he was legally obliged to do, was also discovered and seized.

He refused to answer any questions in interview, but when he appeared at a Chelmsford Crown Court on Monday 6 October 2025, he pleaded guilty to nine counts of making indecent photograph/pseudo photograph of a child.

He was remanded in custody and on Friday 15 May at the same court Evans, of Jerounds, was sentenced to seven years. He was jailed for four years and a further three years on extended licence.

MOSOVO officer Rivers added:

"Using AI to make indecent images of children is a criminal offence and Evans has rightly been sentenced for his offending.
"This depraved act of using AI is treated just as seriously as using actual photographs.
"Offenders who are thinking of engaging with this type of activity will be caught and face the full consequences of their actions.
"And alongside ensuring perpetrators are brought to justice, it is vital everyone understands what to do if they come across an intimate deepfake image.
"Our partnership with BT and EE offers practical advice on AI and provides you with a simple tool to report and remove fake explicit images."

To access our video, expert guidance, and practical tools to help remove harmful images from the internet visit Fake or Real? Know the Deal – Protect Your Family in the Age of Deepfakes