Fake images probe uncovers global abuse website

A Hampshire police investigation into the creation of explicit images of women has helped uncover a global network used to market child sexual abuse material online.

The case began in January 2024, when a woman reported photographs from her wedding had been digitally manipulated to make her appear naked or wearing lingerie.

Police identified the man responsible as 30-year-old Ethan Orchard, of Highland Road, Southsea, who was known to the victim.

During their inquiries, officers uncovered a "truly horrifying" website, where more than a million child sexual abuse images had been shared.

Orchard was sentenced to three years and four months in prison.

More than 100 fake images of his victim, referred to as Sarah to protect her identity, were uploaded to a website alongside graphic written fantasies describing sexual violence.

Officers said Orchard had even alerted her to the existence of the images himself, without revealing that he had uploaded them.

Sarah said: "My first instinct was, who did it? Who had access to these images, because they were all private on my Facebook and no-one could access them, so I was very confused.

"I was distraught because it was my wedding photos being used. It's my face but not my body. I felt violated, but at the same time, I knew it wasn't me."

Investigators later discovered Orchard had also created and shared fake explicit images of two other women he knew, as well as posting violent and sexually explicit fantasies about them online.

He also encouraged other users of the website to harass one of the women, although she was never contacted.

PC Steve Cann, who led the investigation, said the women had been "targeted, objectified and left in constant fear for their safety".

"What happened to the women in Hampshire is truly shocking and highlights the frightening reality of how people can exploit online spaces to cause serious harm," he said.

While investigating Orchard's offending, Hampshire Police alerted the FBI to the website in February 2024.

The site was later seized by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement as part of a separate international investigation.

US investigators discovered it was also being used to advertise child sexual abuse material and connect buyers with sellers.

Authorities seized more than 1.1 million child sexual abuse images and identified more than 50 victims across the United States, Canada, Australia and the UK.

Cann said the scale of offending uncovered through a single website had been "truly horrifying".

"Our counterparts in the US have conducted incredible work to remove this website, seize more than a million indecent images of children and identify a global paedophile ring," he said.

Police said advances in artificial intelligence had made it easier than ever to create convincing fake images and videos using photographs taken from social media or elsewhere online, creating new challenges for investigators.

Cann said: "The law is catching up, and the Online Safety Act 2023 is a new set of laws that protects children and adults online."

Sarah said the experience had left a lasting impact and that reporting what happened to police had been difficult, but worthwhile.

She hopes speaking publicly about the case will encourage others to come forward.

"It would have been easier for me to sit back and not have to deal with this but then, I don't know how much worse he could have gotten," she said.

"I don't know how far my images could have gone, I mean he spread my name, my address, everything out there. Anything could have happened to me if I didn't report it."

Orchard pleaded guilty to three counts of sharing a photograph of a person in an intimate state for the purpose of sexual gratification and one count of encouraging the commission of an offence.

He was also made subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and an indefinite restraining order.