WA man jailed for using AI to create child exploitation material
A Western Australian man has been jailed for over four years for using artificial intelligence to create child exploitation material. The 41-year-old, who pleaded guilty to 26 charges, was sentenced in the District Court.
A 41-year-old man has been sentenced to more than four years in prison for using artificial intelligence to create child exploitation material.
WARNING: This story contains graphic details that may distress some readers.
District Court Judge Belinda Lonsdale handed down the sentence to Matthew John Woodward, who had pleaded guilty to 26 charges including indecent recording, producing, creating and possessing child exploitation material. He also pleaded guilty to five charges of possession of indecent or obscene articles.
"Appalling" material created using AI
"Such images, whether still, moving or whether generated by AI, are simply appalling," Judge Lonsdale said. "That a human being could enjoy watching such depraved material is shocking indeed."
The court heard that Woodward used encrypted messaging apps to send sexual material to co-accused individuals, as well as a covert police operative who was communicating with him.
Woodward wept in court during the trial.
Police investigation and sentencing
A police raid on his Wanneroo home yielded a large amount of child exploitation material, as well as videos of bestiality.
Woodward told police after his arrest, "I just want people to like me".
Matthew Parcej, a co-accused, had previously been sentenced to 16 months imprisonment, while Luke Parcej has yet to be sentenced.
Use of AI and online behaviour
Woodward's lawyer Margot Perling said her client had an autism diagnosis and had "lived his life online". It "never crossed his mind that what he was he was doing was wrong", she said.
Judge Lonsdale said there was a need for deterrence, adding that using AI to generate abusive material, with the "justification" that it didn't involve actual abuse, was not mitigating because images of real children were used.
"The distribution and production of this material encourages others to consume it," she said. "The consumption of any pornography, including child pornography, is now understood to be addictive."
Woodward was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison, and must serve two-and-a-half before being eligible for parole. He was fined $2,500 for the offensive material charges.
Judge Lonsdale said Woodward, who had no prior criminal history, was "highly motivated not to reoffend".