Southport man jailed for creating digitally altered pornographic images of children and women
A man from Southport has been jailed for multiple sex offences, including creating and sharing digitally altered pornographic images of children and women – known more commonly as ‘deepfakes’.
Karl Marshall, 47, of Rufford Road, Southport, pleaded guilty to making indecent photographs/pseudo-photographs of a child, sharing a photograph or film of a person in an intimate state for the purpose of sexual gratification and voyeurism.
He was jailed for two years and two months yesterday, Tuesday 22 October, at Liverpool Crown Court.
A ‘deepfake’ is an image or video that has been digitally altered with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to replace the face of one person with the face of another.
In recent years, there have been examples around the world of people using the technology to add the faces of celebrities or public figures - most often women - into pornographic films.
Marshall used the faces of real women and children without their knowledge to create pornographic images and shared them online.
As part of a complex investigation, it was also found that between July 2023 and January 2024, Marshall made 266 indecent pseudo-images of children using AI technology.
In a Victim Impact Statement, one of the women who Marshall used to create pornographic images said: “Knowing those images of me are out there circulating the internet is so violating. It was like I was just a piece of meat he could objectify. After discovering the images I questioned why me? Why had Karl targeted me in such a way?
“I stopped making an effort, stopped wearing makeup and didn’t wear my hair down because maybe just maybe if I hadn’t done that before maybe Karl wouldn’t have looked twice at me and maybe it would prevent it from happening again.
“I’m not the same person I was before. My confidence is low, I question my judgement of others, I worry when a man looks at me for too long and panic that he may have seen the images. I’m permanently anxious and on the edge and struggle to sleep all because of Karl’s despicable behaviour.”
A second woman who was targeted in the same way said in her Victim Impact Statement: “I am a changed person. I don’t trust as I once did. I question has this person or that person seen the images of me? Have they been distributing them? I feel unsafe in my own skin. No one touched me yet I feel violated and used. It’s indescribable how dirty and weak you can feel when you have zero control over the situation you find yourself in.”
Detective Sergeant Rory Quigley, who led the investigation, said: “The creation or sharing of digitally altered images is not a victimless crime and in many cases, such as this one, the identities of real women are used to create pornographic content.
“This is absolutely appalling and would undoubtedly cause huge distress and upset for the victims.
“This was a complex investigation but thankfully we were able to produce the evidence that showed that Marshall was guilty of these offences.”
Detective Sergeant Quigley added: “Merseyside Police is completely committed to protecting children from sexual abuse and those who seek to do them harm.
“I would like to take this opportunity to stress that if you have experienced any form of sexual abuse, or know of a child being abused, please come forward and report this to police.
“We take all such reports extremely seriously and if you can find the courage to come forward and speak to us we have specially trained officers who will treat you with sensitivity and compassion.”
If you are a child or young person suffering sexual or physical abuse, the following organisations can also provide help and support:
NSPCC – call 0808 800 5000 or e-mail [email protected].
Childline – call 0800 1111
If you’ve been affected by sexual violence of any kind don’t be afraid to tell someone, find the courage to come forward and get the help you deserve.
You can report rape, sexual assault and other sexual offences anonymously here: https://www.merseyside.police.uk/ro/report/rsa/alpha-v1/advice/rape-sexual-assault-and-other-sexual-offences/how-to-report-rape-sexual-assault-other-sexual-offences/
There is a lot of support available from specialist officers within Merseyside Police and through the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Victim Care Merseyside service delivered jointly by two registered charities.
In Liverpool, Sefton and Wirral, support is provided by Rape and Sexual Abuse Support (RASA) Merseyside who are available on 0151 558 1801 and, in St Helens and Knowsley, by the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (RASASC) Cheshire and Merseyside who can be contacted on 01925 221 546 or 0330 363 0063.