First deepfake porn convict spared jail but gets suspended sentence

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 27 Oct, 03:02 · Archive

Australia's first deepfake pornography convict has been sentenced to two years and three months in prison, suspended on a good behaviour bond.

William Hamish Yeates, 20, from Adelaide, became the first person prosecuted under federal laws introduced in 2024 to combat deepfake pornography. He pleaded guilty in April to two counts of creating sexual material transmitted without consent, plus two counts of using a carriage service in a harassing or offensive way and one count of making personal data available.

In the South Australian District Court on Tuesday, Judge Anne Barnett sentenced him to two years and three months in prison. However, the jail term was suspended on condition that he entered into a three-year, $500 good behaviour bond. The maximum penalty for creating and sharing deepfake sexual material is seven years in prison.

Yeates used photos from his victim's social media account to create degrading images and videos, adding offensive captions and comments before distributing them on X and Ero Me. Judge Barnett noted the seriousness of online dissemination, saying the material had potential to reach a large audience and remain permanently accessible. She observed that such offending disproportionately targets women and girls, and that the creation and sharing of degrading sexualised material without consent causes profound humiliation and long-lasting harm.

How it is being reported

• 'Degrading': deepfake porn offender spared time in jailAn obsessed man who used artificial intelligence to turn a teen's graduation photo into a degrading pornographic deepfake will not have to serve time in jail.Perth Now · 27 Oct, 02:33
• 'Degrading': deepfake porn offender spared time in jailAn obsessed man who used artificial intelligence to turn a teen's graduation photo into a degrading pornographic deepfake will not have to serve time in jail.The West Australian · 27 Oct, 02:33

In this story: William Hamish Yeates · Judge Anne Barnett · Adelaide · Netherby · South Australian District Court

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