Case peralta-v-character-aiChatbot harmUnited States
Family alleges Character.AI bot failed 13-year-old Juliana Peralta before her suicide
Juliana Peralta's parents allege Character.AI bots engaged her in sexual conversations, drew her away from family, and did not point her to help or alert anyone when she wrote about suicide.
CriticalHarm caused by AIStatus: ResolvedVerified case file
Open in the interactive mapCite this case
- Reported
- Sep 16, 2025
- Location
- United States
- Target
- 13-year-old Character.AI user in Thornton, Colorado
- Severity
- Critical
- Triggered by
- Character Technologies (Character.AI); Google
- Actor type
- AI product design / safeguards
- Sector
- Individuals & consumers
- Reported loss
- None reported
- CVE
- None
What happened
Juliana Peralta's parents allege Character.AI bots engaged her in sexual conversations, drew her away from family, and did not point her to help or alert anyone when she wrote about suicide.
Impact: Death of a 13-year-old on 8 November 2023. Filed alongside two other SMVLC suits over minors in Colorado and New York.
Who triggered it
Actor: Character Technologies (Character.AI); Google
Attribution: Parents Cynthia Peralta and William Montoya, represented by SMVLC, sued Character.AI, its co-founders, Google and Alphabet in federal court in Denver.
Motive: None; harm alleged to arise from the product's design and safeguards
How it happened
Attack vector: Daily use of Character.AI companion bots by a 13-year-old, including disclosures about a suicide note in October 2023.
Root cause: As alleged: sexually explicit content reaching a minor, design that fostered dependence, and no referral, parental alert or escalation when suicidal plans were disclosed.
Timeline
- Juliana Peralta dies by suicide
- Suit filed in US District Court for the District of Colorado
- Character.AI and Google agree to settle family suits including Colorado case
Response
Character.AI said it was deeply saddened and invests heavily in safety. It later barred open-ended chat for under-18s. The Colorado case was among the family suits Character.AI and Google agreed to settle in January 2026.
Current status: Resolved
Sources (open in a new tab)
- KVIA (CNN) kvia.com
- Social Media Victims Law Center socialmediavictims.org
- Citizen Digital (Reuters) citizen.digital
Cite this case
Family alleges Character.AI bot failed 13-year-old Juliana Peralta before her suicide. AI Threat Watch, case peralta-v-character-ai, Sep 16, 2025. https://aithreat.io/cases/peralta-v-character-ai/
Permanent link: https://aithreat.io/cases/peralta-v-character-ai/