A woman whose modelling photographs were used to create sexually explicit AI images without her consent is calling for stronger regulation of artificial intelligence. Georgia Horton said photographs taken from her social media accounts were manipulated by Ethan Orchard, an old college friend whom she had believed she could trust.
Orchard, from Southsea, was jailed for three years and four months in July after creating and sharing fake explicit images of Horton and two other women. He also posted violent and sexually explicit fantasies about the women online and encouraged other men to describe what they wanted to do to them.
Some posts asked users to choose between the women or describe sexual acts involving them. Horton said one asked what someone would do if given five minutes alone with her, while another presented options involving saving, raping or selling her.
Horton and Orchard attended college together in Hampshire. She told the BBC she is now speaking publicly about what happened to raise awareness of how AI can be used to create abusive material.
“Everyone seems to be so pro-AI, thinking it’s just a bit of fun on a computer screen,” she said. “But it’s dangerous.”
Horton Calls for Tighter AI Safeguards
The UK introduced legislation this year making the non-consensual creation of sexually explicit deepfake images a criminal offence. Government guidance states that the offence took effect on February 6.
Horton said the law was a welcome start but argued that the technology used to generate such images remains widely available. She said safeguards introduced by technology companies can still be bypassed by changing prompts and that people can increasingly create their own unregulated AI models.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said the government was taking the issue seriously. It has also announced requirements for platforms to remove reported non-consensual intimate images within 48 hours, with companies potentially facing penalties for failing to comply. The government announced the measures in February.
Police Investigation Led to Wider Abuse Case
During the investigation, officers discovered that the website used by Orchard was also connected to child sexual abuse material. An official Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary announcement said US authorities seized 1.1 million indecent images of children and identified more than 50 victims across the US, Canada, Australia and the UK.
The investigation also identified 10 suspected offenders, while legal proceedings remained ongoing in the US at the time of the police announcement. Orchard had pleaded guilty to three counts of sharing an intimate photograph for sexual gratification and one count related to encouraging another offence before receiving his prison sentence.
Horton urged parents to be more cautious about posting photographs of children online. She said a single photograph could be processed using AI to create numerous additional images, making it difficult to control how publicly available pictures may be used.
Featured image credits: OrboGraph
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