A student from a private high school in Taichung allegedly involved in AI deepfake of a classmate! The student is suspected of spreading sexual images on TG, and may still be attending Xing University.

A male student at a private high school in Taichung used AI Deepfake to synthesize inappropriate photos of 20 people and distributed them on Telegram. The victims include underage female students. The school has currently launched a gender-equity investigation, and law enforcement has also been brought in to investigate.

Deepfake sex scandal involving private high school student in Taichung—spreading sexual images of female students on TG

According to reports from the Central News Agency and the Mirror News, two Grade 12 male students from a private high school in Taichung used AI Deepfake (deepfake) technology to synthesize inappropriate photos of underage female students from the same school, and used the messaging app Telegram to set up thousands of group chats to spread the material. There were 20 victims, and the case was uncovered in mid-March.

An anonymous whistleblower alleged that, to protect the school’s reputation, the school covered up the incident and arranged for the two male students involved to switch to online classes. The whistleblower said that one of the male students had already been admitted to university through the Star Admission Program, and pointed out that a teacher/adviser (homeroom instructor) allegedly demanded confidentiality “to avoid secondary harm,” which has sparked public doubts about the school’s attitude and calls for the universities that admitted the involved students to carefully assess their qualifications.

The school has launched a gender-equity investigation, and police have requested prosecutors to handle the case

Regarding this case, the Education Department of Taichung City told the media that after the private high school became aware of the matter, it had already initiated a gender equality investigation procedure in accordance with the law.

The school also completed campus safety reporting as required and referred the case to the school’s Gender Equality Education Committee. At present, the committee has decided to launch an investigation. However, based on confidentiality principles, it has not disclosed the details of the case.

The police in the jurisdiction said that the case has been reported to prosecutors for investigation, pending further investigation and clarification.

From the Xiao Yu case to South Korea’s “N-room,” Deepfake crimes tend to involve younger age groups

As generative AI and Deepfake technology continue to evolve, cases in which unscrupulous individuals use the technology to produce sexual exploitation imagery have also been increasing.

For example, between 2020 and 2021, a Taiwanese influencer named Zhu Yuchen (Xiao Yu) misused Deepfake technology to synthesize sexual images of female public figures for profit. In 2024, South Korea also saw a surge of illegal deepfake pornography scandals, with victims including underage girls and members of well-known girl groups, and related crimes spreading across campuses.

At the time, South Korea’s official data also showed that 75% of the perpetrators caught were in the 10 to 19 age group, while another survey indicated that among deepfake victims so far this year, 37% are minors.

• **Related coverage:**TWICE also became a target! South Korea’s deepfake sex scandal dubbed “N Room 2.0” draws investigation again targeting Telegram

Now it has emerged that students at a private middle school in Taiwan may have been involved in a similar case, again highlighting the phenomenon that Deepfake sexual exploitation crimes tend to involve younger age groups. How to prevent crime while also strengthening sex education for teenagers and legal awareness remains a major challenge.