Teen tells court of 'painfully real' impacts of explicit deepfake images

A teenage girl who had sexually explicit deepfake images of her shared online has told a court that, although fake, the images have had a "painfully real" impact on her.

William Hamish Yeates, of Netherby, appeared in South Australia's District Court today for a pre-sentence hearing after he pleaded guilty to two counts of creating or altering sexual material without consent earlier this year.

The 20-year-old was the first person in Australia to be charged under federal laws introduced in 2024 to combat the rise of deepfake pornography.

The offending, which occurred between October 2024 and February 2025, involved the creation of sexually explicit deepfake images and videos of his victim that he shared online.

The now-19-year-old woman was supported by more than a dozen family members and friends as she delivered her victim impact statement to the court.

"For a long time, I've carried the shame of something that was never my fault. Today, I'm here to give that shame back to the person it belongs to," she told him.

"I want to make it very clear, these images of me were fake but the impact they had is painfully real."

In her statement, the teenager said the first time she saw her graduation picture was on a pornography website.

"Knowing that my graduation photo was taken and used with such a corrupt context has been one of the hardest things for me to process," she said.

"The first time I saw my actual graduation picture was on a pornography website beside altered videos of me with my full name and school attached to it.

"Every time I now see that photo, I feel sick.

"You took a memory that was supposed to represent achievement, friendship and happiness and turned it into something so painful."

The 19-year-old said the discovery of Yeates's offending resulted in the "darkest period" of her life but said she would not let it define her.

"Despite everything I will refuse to let what you did to me define me forever," she said.

"I am not your victim, Will. I am a survivor.

"You tried to reduce me to an image on a screen, but I am so much more than that."

Yeates read an apology to his victim in which he said the harm he caused the girl was "unintended".

"My actions were repulsive and will continue to plague my mind for as long as I breathe," he said.

Exposure to explicit online content

Yeates's defence barrister, Jane Powell SC, told the court that a psychologist had diagnosed the 20-year-old with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and that a report mentioned a diagnosis of compulsive sexual behaviour disorder (CSBD).

She said he developed "a sense of an obsession" with the victim.

Ms Powell also told the court that in the lead-up to his offending, Yeates began engaging in "communities" on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, "where everyone was in the same mindset".

"It was very common to post nude images of women in such communities," she said.

"His exposure to that content made him think that sharing photos of women in a sexually derogatory manner was OK."

Ms Powell also told the court that Yeates had been introduced to Andrew Tate online, who she referred to as a "hateful, misogynistic individual".

Tate is a well-known social media influencer, self-described misogynist and alleged rapist. 

"Mr Yeates found himself conflicted in some ways but still attracted to that platform … in the months and year leading up to the offending," Ms Powell said.

She asked the court not to sentence Yeates to time behind bars as it would "weigh heavily" on his mental health.

However, a prosecutor from the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) opposed Ms Powell's submission and said a term of imprisonment would be the only appropriate sentence due to the "extremely insidious" nature of the "serious conduct".

"One might be able to accept, on the one hand, that there was a desire to belong in this deplorable community of the Andrew Tate manosphere but that is not an exclusive motivation for this offending when one looks at the content that he was posting," she said.

"Two things can be true, which is: he wanted to belong, but he also wanted to degrade and humiliate the victim online."

The prosecutor said a sentence of imprisonment would work to deter others from committing similar offences.

"The nature of this offending is significant, it is prolific and it is online and it is growing," she said.

"A sentence in this matter has to deter particularly young men from engaging in this type of behaviour."

Yeates faces a maximum penalty of seven years behind bars and will be sentenced next month.