'Obsessed' man used AI to make sex images of girl

An "obsessed" child abuser who used AI to make sexual images of a teenage girl, which he then used to pose as her online, has been jailed for three years.

Callum Wray, 25, had previously been given a suspended sentence for pretending to be the 15-year-old, but resumed his activity again, Teesside Crown Court heard.

The girl said Wray, from Billingham, was ruining her life and she was frustrated he had not previously been jailed.

Wray, who also had images on his phone of children as young as two being abused, admitted breaching multiple court orders and making indecent images of children.

Wray was convicted of five counts of making indecent pseudo-images of children in January 2023, prosecutor Kathryn Wetherley said.

He had superimposed photographs of the girl into sexual positions, which he then used to set up profiles on multiple websites through which he pretended to be the girl with people who interacted with the accounts, the court heard.

He was jailed for a year, suspended for two years, and made subject to a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO), ordered to sign the sex offenders register and comply with a restraining order banning him from contacting the girl or referring to her online, the court heard.

On 20 June 2025, police were told Wray had set up further accounts, including on social networking app MeetMe, and was once again posing as the girl and sending sexualised images of her to others, the court heard.

He took photographs he found of her from her social media and used an AI system to remove clothing and put her in provocative poses, the court heard.

When officers went to his home, he delayed letting them in by claiming he was in the shower when in reality he was deleting evidence from his devices, the court heard.

Police found he had erased his search history, messages and 27 dating and social media apps, all of which breached his SHPO, Wetherley said.

On his phone, officers also found 19 sexual images of children, including 12 in the most serious category featuring children aged between two and 10 years old.

In a statement read to the court, the girl said she was "frustrated, scared and angry" to find out Wray had been doing the same thing again.

"I don't understand why he is doing this," the girl said, adding she was terrified of him and he was "clearly obsessed" with her.

She said she did not believe he would ever stop and he was ruining her life.

The girl said she could not stress enough how disappointed she was that he was not jailed in 2023 and feared his behaviour would escalate if he remained free, putting her in fear of her life and for her family.

When he was interviewed by police, Wray admitted he was "obsessed with the girl" and explained how he had used AI to alter pictures of her to remove her clothing.

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