French police detain man for AI‑generated child sexual abuse images on TGV

On 26 July 2026, a 73‑year‑old man was stopped at Saint‑Pierre‑des‑Corps station in Indre‑et‑Loire after passengers reported that he was using a laptop to create AI‑generated images depicting children in underwear and adults in sexual poses. The travelers alerted train controllers, who contacted police. The suspect was taken into custody as the train arrived in Saint‑Pierre‑des‑Corps and was placed in police custody in Tours.

He was held in custody for about 30 hours, then released and returned to his home in Saverne, Bas‑Rhin. No copies of the alleged images were recovered, and the investigation has been assigned to the Saverne prosecutor’s office. French High Commissioner for Children Sarah El Haïry praised the passengers’ vigilance, stating, “Les gens étaient stupéfaits mais lui semblait ne pas voir où se trouvait le mal.”