Massachusetts is failing to keep kids safe online. It can start by criminalizing AI-generated…

A former Mississippi school teacher was recently sentenced to prison for utilizing artificial intelligence to create child pornography featuring his own students. The incident highlights the growing threat posed by the accessibility of generative technology in the exploitation of minors.

What happened

The perpetrator used artificial intelligence tools to synthesize explicit imagery by incorporating the faces of students he taught. This case is part of a broader, alarming trend of AI-driven child exploitation, where perpetrators use deepfake and nudification tools to create non-consensual sexual imagery of children. The rapid increase in such cases is evidenced by national data, which shows reports of AI-generated child sexual abuse material to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Kids rising from 4,700 in 2023 to 1.5 million in 2025.