# xAI Sues Grok User Already Charged with CSAM, Says He Created Fake Accounts to Generate Child Sexual Abuse Images > Source: > Published: 2026-07-16 17:44:09+00:00 # xAI Sues Grok User Already Charged with CSAM, Says He Created Fake Accounts to Generate Child Sexual Abuse Images ## xAI says a South Carolina man used fake accounts to bypass Grok safeguards and create illegal images. [xAI has sued a South Carolina man](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/xai-sues-user-ai-generated-child-abuse-material-1808999) already facing criminal charges over alleged child sexual abuse material, accusing him of spending more than two months using fake Grok accounts to create or attempt to create sexually explicit images of adults and children, before the company's own reporting helped trigger a criminal investigation. The lawsuit, filed on 14 July in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, alleges that between December 2025 and February 2026, 67-year-old Terry Wayne Harwood repeatedly tried to circumvent [Grok's safety safeguards](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/xai-grok-explicit-ai-content-controversy-1802293) by uploading ordinary photographs and prompting the chatbot to generate explicit images and videos without the subjects' consent. The civil action follows Harwood's arrest in February on child sexual exploitation charges. xAI is seeking a permanent injunction preventing him from accessing Grok or any of its services, arguing that he repeatedly violated the company's Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy. ## Alleged Misuse Ran For Nearly 10 Weeks According to the complaint, Harwood created one xAI account on 8 December 2025 before opening a second account under another identity two days later. The lawsuit alleges he then began uploading photographs of adults and children before prompting Grok to generate sexually explicit versions while preserving the subjects' faces and identities. The alleged activity continued until at least 18 February 2026, roughly a week before his arrest. Among the alleged victims was a girl who appeared to be about 10 or 11 years old, according to the complaint. The lawsuit also alleges Harwood targeted adult women by attempting to create non-consensual intimate imagery from otherwise ordinary photographs. ## Complaint Says Harwood Repeatedly Tested Grok's Safeguards The complaint alleges Grok did not comply with every request submitted through Harwood's accounts. According to the filing, the chatbot rejected some prompts involving an apparent child. xAI alleges Harwood responded by modifying and resubmitting prompts in repeated attempts to persuade Grok to generate prohibited content after the original requests were refused. The company says those exchanges show sustained efforts to work around the chatbot's safeguards rather than isolated misuse. The complaint does not specify how many images or videos were ultimately generated but alleges Harwood submitted numerous prompts during the roughly 10-week period. ## xAI Links CyberTip Reports To Arrest According to the complaint, xAI's internal trust and safety systems detected the alleged activity before the company submitted CyberTipline reports to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). The lawsuit says those reports were referred to the South Carolina Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which opened an investigation that led to search warrants, the seizure of electronic devices and Harwood's arrest on 26 February. Harwood was subsequently charged with three counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and five counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. The criminal case remains pending. ## Company Seeks Lifetime Ban From Grok In addition to the criminal prosecution, xAI is asking the federal court to permanently bar Harwood from using Grok or creating future accounts across any xAI service. The company alleges Harwood breached its user agreement by creating accounts under false identities and using the platform to generate, or attempt to generate, child sexual abuse material and non-consensual intimate imagery. It argues that monetary damages alone would not adequately prevent future misuse and is also seeking attorneys' fees and other relief. ## Filing Details Scope Of xAI's Child Safety Reporting Beyond the allegations against Harwood, the complaint provides an unusual glimpse into the scale of xAI's trust and safety operation. According to the filing, the company suspended 52,222 accounts and submitted 73,604 CyberTipline reports to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children during 2026. xAI says those reports contributed to at least 244 arrests. The company argues Harwood's case shows how platform monitoring and mandatory reporting can support criminal investigations involving the suspected misuse of generative AI systems. © Copyright IBTimes 2025. All rights reserved.