People in Interest of S.G.H.

2025 CO 59. No. 25SA29. Preliminary Hearing—Probable Cause—Sexual Exploitation of a Child—Possession of Sexually Exploitative Material—CRS § 18-6-403—Generative AI—2025 Statutory Amendments—Legislative Intent—Statutory History—Legislative History.

October 13, 2025

In this original proceeding, the supreme court addressed whether the district court erred in finding probable cause as to all six counts of sexual exploitation of a child filed against S.G.H., a juvenile, pursuant to CRS § 18-6-403. S.G.H. was accused of using a generative-AI tool to blend authentic images of three classmates’ actual faces and clothed bodies with computer-generated images of naked intimate body parts so as to make his classmates appear unclothed.

The court concluded that the relevant statutory provisions in effect on the dates of the charged offenses did not prohibit S.G.H.’s alleged conduct. More specifically, the court determined that the images at issue did not fall within the scope of the definition of “sexually exploitative material” (an element of the charged offenses), as that term was defined during the relevant time frame. The 2025 legislative amendments to that definition and neighboring provisions corroborate this conclusion. These amendments did not merely clarify existing law; they changed it to account for advances in generative-AI technology.

Because the district court erred in finding probable cause as to all six charges, the court made absolute the rule to show cause. The case was remanded with instructions for the district court to dismiss the charges against S.G.H.