Jail time for man who made deepfake images of schoolgirls

A mother has revealed her anguish over how and when to tell her young daughter she had been targeted by a deepfake image creator who distributed sexualised pictures.

A string of women and schoolgirls shared their stories in court, after AI-rendered nudes or sexualised pictures were emailed by former software developer Antonio Rotondo.

One took immediate security precautions in their home after discovering the images, while others spoke of the costs of psychological counselling and the stress of the legal process.

“What frightens me is knowing that an ordinary photograph can be taken out of my control and transformed into sexual material without my consent,” a victim said.

Rotondo was sentenced to jail on Wednesday after a Brisbane jury found him guilty of 11 counts of stalking.

He was also found guilty of five counts of distributing intimate images and one count of distributing child exploitation material involving an image of a 13-year-old girl modified to be sexually “degrading”.

The 13-year-old’s mother was among the heartbreaking victim impact statements shared in Brisbane District Court on Wednesday, detailing the toll of being targeted by the 56-year-old.

Her teenager has not seen the offensive image. But the mother now feels burdened with keeping that secret and wrestles with how to best tell her about the crime when she was old enough.

Rotondo had downloaded public images of female staff and students from a prestigious Queensland school and models who had taken part in a fashion show.

He modified the images to include nudity or sexualised elements using an AI deepfake program, emailing them to the administrators of multiple schools and the fashion event in September 2023.

Victims on Wednesday said it impacted not only themselves but also their families. They spoke of feeling humiliated and violated on what were meant to be nights of celebration and personal pride.

One said she did not blame the technology, but the people who misused it.

“I do not want to be afraid of photography, being photographed or sharing photographs,” she wrote.

“Being visible is an important part of my life, my work and the way I express myself.”

Rotondo, who represented himself at trial after pleading not guilty, argued on sentence that he should have faced only two charges, as he only distributed two emails.

He also claimed his conduct was not criminal at the time he engaged in it.

But Judge John Allen told Rotondo his clear lack of remorse and insight into his offending meant he had to consider other means of deterrence.

“It’s a common feature of the victim impact statements that the effects of your offending continue to this day,” he said.

Allen, however, found the images fell short of the type of extreme depravity often the subject of such charges.

Rotondo was sentenced to two years in jail. A jury had found Rotondo guilty on Tuesday following a six-day trial.

AAP

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