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In October 2024, Jennifer Ann Crecente’s father found a Character.AI chatbot using her full name and yearbook photograph. The bot was made by a platform user, not published by Character.AI itself. Her family had not authorized the use, and her father said the discovery was deeply distressing. Character.AI said it removed the bot after receiving a report and that its rules prohibit impersonating a person.
What happened to Jennifer Ann Crecente’s identity on Character.AI?
In early October 2024, nearly 18 years after Jennifer was murdered, her father, Drew Crecente, received a Google Alert that led him to a Character.AI profile using her full name and yearbook photo. The profile falsely described her as a “video game journalist and expert in technology, pop culture and journalism.” Character.AI presented the profile as a “knowledgeable and friendly AI character” that users could chat with. The Washington Post reported that several people had interacted with it, based on a screenshot of the profile, which has since been deleted.
Jennifer was 18 when her ex-boyfriend murdered her in 2006; he was convicted. Her parents later established separate organizations in her name focused on preventing teen dating violence. The chatbot incident was not a character created by the family or an authorized tribute: the reporting described it as a user-created bot, and the family had not given permission for the use of Jennifer’s identity.
How did her father and Character.AI respond?
Drew Crecente asked for the character to be removed
Drew told The Washington Post he was appalled and distressed. “My pulse was racing. I was just looking for a big flashing red stop button that I could slap and just make this stop,” he said. He emailed Character.AI asking the company to take the character down. He told Forbes: “A grieving father should not have to find out that his dead daughter is being used to try and make money as a chatbot on some website.” He also said: “It shocks the conscience, and it’s unacceptable behavior.”
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Drew did not start a conversation with the bot or investigate who had created it. The reporting reviewed for this article does not establish the creator’s identity.
Character.AI said it removed the bot after notification
Character.AI said it deleted the character on October 2, 2024, after a public post and report. Spokesperson Kathryn Kelly said: “When notified about Jennifer’s Character, we reviewed the content and the account and took action based on our policies.” She also said the company was “constantly evolving and refining our safety practices to help prioritize our community’s safety.” The Washington Post reported the company’s position that its terms prohibit impersonating a person or entity and that it reviews reports and removes characters it finds violate those terms.
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The family’s account and the company’s account point to a key distinction: the bot was made by a user, but the platform hosted it until it was reported and removed. Character.AI’s stated policy did not prevent the profile from appearing in the first place.
What did Character.AI say about moderation and safety?
In an October 22, 2024 company update, Character.AI said it was conducting proactive detection and moderation of user-created characters and removing characters that violated its terms. The update also described measures for minors, additional detection and intervention, a disclaimer reminding users that the AI is not a real person, and session notifications as changes planned for rollout at that time. The announcement does not establish that every measure was already active on October 22, or that the same features and policies remain unchanged today.
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In a May 18, 2026 page about the EU Digital Services Act, Character.AI described reporting and complaint procedures and said it uses automated and manual methods to identify content that may be illegal or incompatible with its policies. The company also said it is not obliged to proactively check every submission. These are Character.AI’s descriptions of its own approach, not independent confirmation of compliance.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What does the case mean for platform responsibility?
The incident raises a practical question for platforms that let users create chatbots from names, images and descriptions: how should they identify unauthorized identity use, and how quickly should they respond when a person or family reports it? In this case, the character was user-created, and Character.AI said it removed it after notification. The public reporting does not establish who made the bot, how long it was available, or whether a regulator or court made a finding about the company’s responsibility.
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Regulatory rules differ by jurisdiction. In a November 8, 2024 letter, UK regulator Ofcom said user-created chatbot content shared on a user-to-user platform is user-generated content regulated under the UK Online Safety Act. In a December 18, 2025 explainer, Ofcom said chatbot services may be covered when they fit the statutory definitions and described risk-assessment and risk-reduction duties for covered providers, particularly in relation to children. This is UK-specific context, not a ruling about Jennifer’s case or a universal statement of law.
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Other reports about AI imitations of deceased people involve different individuals and circumstances. For example, Sky News quoted Esther Ghey, the mother of Brianna Ghey, and Molly Rose Foundation chief executive Andy Burrows about other reported imitations. Their remarks should not be read as comments on the Jennifer Crecente bot. Individual incidents should be compared by who created the bot, what identity material it used, whether the family consented, who detected it, how the platform responded, and whether a regulator or court made a formal finding.
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