Police Raid Homes in AI Image Abuse Case

Police in Lomas de Zamora raided four teenagers’ homes over allegations that they used artificial intelligence to create and sell fake nude images of female classmates. Around 50 girls may have been affected. The images reportedly featured students from the first to fifth years of secondary school at Colegio Modelo Lomas, south of Buenos Aires.

The accused, reportedly 15-year-old pupils, allegedly altered photographs to make classmates appear naked, then circulated the images among students and tried to sell them on adult-content websites. The girls’ photographs and identities became material for circulation without their consent.

Images Spread, Families Demand Answers

Families said the images traveled through WhatsApp groups. They described guides that paired photographs from girls’ social media accounts with manipulated images showing them naked and bearing their real names. Some images allegedly reached pupils at other schools and appeared on pornography websites, newspaper Perfil reported.

Students and parents protested outside the school, demanding action and accusing the institution of failing to respond adequately. Families alleged that school authorities knew what was happening but did not inform parents. Some students also said they had been told not to discuss the matter. Those allegations haven't been independently established.

Parents met school officials and education inspectors, while families filed a collective complaint with the juvenile criminal responsibility prosecutor’s office. Families confronting the alleged abuse organized three responses: a protest, meetings and a joint complaint.

Police Search and School Restrictions

Investigators searched the suspects’ homes on October 9 and seized mobile phones, computers and a PlayStation console for forensic examination. They are examining the scale of the alleged production and distribution, and whether anyone else took part.

Investigators are also looking into the possible role of an adult who allegedly used a credit card to pay for the AI tool. It's unclear whether that person knew how it was being used or had any involvement. The investigation hasn't established the adult’s knowledge or role.

Authorities ordered the four accused students to stop any harassment and barred them from approaching the school while the investigation proceeds. School officials arranged for the students to continue their education remotely via Zoom, keeping them out of in-person classes. That’s the institutional response described so far; families continue to seek answers about the images and the school’s handling of the situation.

A Pattern Across Schools

The report places this case alongside other incidents in Argentina involving accusations that students used AI to create sexual images of classmates without consent. At the private Escuela Thomas Alva Edison in Ituzaingó, Buenos Aires Province, four students aged 15 to 16 allegedly used AI to make and sell fake nude images of female classmates. A seven-year-old pupil in the school’s primary section was also allegedly targeted.

That case reportedly surfaced after a student alerted authorities following a dispute over how money from the images was divided. The school said it had activated safeguarding protocols, contacted families and barred the students involved from attending classes. Juvenile prosecutors in Morón are investigating.

In July, allegations emerged involving pupils at the Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires and the Escuela Superior de Comercio Carlos Pellegrini, two secondary schools run by the University of Buenos Aires. Students allegedly created and circulated manipulated images of classmates, with some material reportedly offered for sale. The allegations prompted student protests, and some pupils were suspended.

In September, a separate investigation in Santa Fe Province focused on a 14-year-old boy accused of using AI to create and distribute fake nude images of six female classmates. The incidents have raised concerns about readily available AI tools, the rapid spread of the material and schools’ challenges in protecting students from digital sexual abuse.