Paedophile convicted of using AI to blackmail minors receives longer sentence

Neil Darlington, a 52-year-old man who was found guilty of using artificial intelligence in blackmailing minors into providing their explicit images, has been ordered to serve more time in jail by the Court of Appeal. Having been first sentenced to one year in June in the Stoke Crown Court in Darlington, Darlington’s sentence has now been extended to hold a three-year term.

Darlington, who had admitted to ten charges, including making indecent images of children and blackmail of two girls, used AI to alter fully clothed decoys sent to him by the police officers. He threatened to send these altered pictures to the victims’ families and friends. The 

Solicitor General argues that the initial sentence was too lenient 

The Solicitor General appealed to the Court of Appeal, stating that the initial sentence was too lenient.  The Court of Appeal in London concurred with the Solicitor General’s argument. Lord Justice Bean, with Mrs. Justice Cutts and Mr. Justice Murray, stated that although the sentence should be lowered as the victims were decoys, the increase was required to consider the gravity of Darlington’s offenses. The judges stated that this was because the original sentence did not properly reflect the seriousness of the offending behavior in regard to the number and length of the images in question. 

Suki Dhadda, representing the Solicitor General, pointed out that Darlington’s incessant demands and the lack of regard for the victims’ suffering were not satisfactorily addressed by the initial sentencing. She said that a term of 12 months does not in any way suggest the gravity of his actions. 

Darlington’s lawyer, Robert Holt, pointed out that as much as the initial sentence may have sounded lenient, it was not unduly so. He argued that time in custody was itself a sanction and that this had been compounded by overcrowding in the prison. 

Holt also pointed to Darlington’s ill health, including a recurrence of angina, as other factors that had affected him in prison. He said that the consequences of imprisonment had been felt most severely in Darlington. 

The judges did not accept this argument either. They backed the view of the sentencing judge that blackmail is a very vile offense and should be punished severely. The extended sentence ensures that the extent of the harm that Darlington caused is appropriately punished. Besides the longer prison term, Darlington will be subject to the sex offenders register for the rest of his life. 

City Attorney files lawsuit against AI websites producing deepfake nude images

The San Francisco City Attorney’s office has recently filed a lawsuit against 16 of what it called some of the best-known AI-based websites creating non-consensual nude deepfakes of women and girls. As revealed by City Attorney David Chiu, this legal action is the first of its kind, and the websites involved received more than 200 million visits in the first half of 2024. 

The lawsuit alleges that these websites employ AI to strip images of clothed people of their clothes. These tools are used to alter photographs to expose the subject’s private parts, even without their permission. While the specific website is not mentioned in the complaint, it is said to have a banner soliciting users to exchange real life for virtually explicit images.