LAFOURCHE - The Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office announced on Monday that a student at Sixth Ward Middle School was charged with sharing explicit photos of other students created by artificial intelligence. 

Detectives opened an investigation with the school on Aug. 26 after male students had reportedly shared fake nude photos of female students on a school bus. This led to an altercation between a female student and a male student on the bus, according to the sheriff's office.

One of the male students was later charged by detectives on Sept. 15 with ten counts of unlawful dissemination of images created by artificial intelligence.  

“While the ability to alter images has been available for decades, the rise of A.I. has made it easier for anyone to alter or create such images with little to no training or experience," Sheriff Craig Webre said.

The incident was first publicized at a Lafourche Parish School Board meeting on Nov. 5.