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Australian judge criticised for suspending sentence in AI image abuse case
A South Australian judge has been criticised for suspending the prison sentence of a 20-year-old law student convicted of making and sharing explicit AI-generated images of a teenage girl without her consent. The case is Australia’s first conviction under new laws targeting this conduct, and campaigners and commenters say the sentence may fail to deter abuse or reassure victims.
William Hamish Yeates pleaded guilty to two offences committed between October 2024 and February 2025, including altering the girl’s graduation photo and posting AI-generated images and videos online. He received two years and three months’ imprisonment, suspended on a three-year good behaviour bond requiring a $500 payment. Judge Anne Barnett said the material degraded and humiliated the girl and could cause lasting harm; she also noted Yeates had become desensitised through online pornography and misogynistic communities.
In short
- Australian law student’s prison term was suspended.
- He made and shared explicit AI images of a 17-year-old.
- Campaigners say the sentence may not deter future abuse.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Judge slammed after private schoolboy avoids jail for creating explicit AI deepfakes of teenage girl: ‘This is a disgrace, what about his victim?’”.