Arabic version: محاكمة روتوندو بشأن التزييف العميق تستمع إلى أدلة من مقابلة الشرطة

According to ABC News, Antonio Rotondo has pleaded not guilty in the Brisbane District Court to more than a dozen charges over alleged sexualised deepfake images involving former Brisbane high school students and staff. The charges include 11 counts of stalking, five counts of distributing intimate images and one count of distributing child exploitation material.

Crown prosecutor Ben Jackson told the jury that, while living in the Philippines in September 2023, Mr Rotondo allegedly sent an email containing numerous images to several recipients, including two Brisbane private schools. The jury heard the images depicted current and former female students and staff at one school and had allegedly been digitally altered to remove clothing or replace it with revealing lingerie.

Mr Jackson said the jury would hear that images of models involved in Brisbane Fashion Week were altered and sent to a woman connected with that event. The prosecution also alleged that 16 deepfake images were uploaded to a website controlled by Mr Rotondo. Mr Jackson told jurors they would need to decide whether the alleged conduct would cause distress to a person in normal circumstances.

The jury heard Mr Rotondo spoke to police after arriving in Australia in October 2023. Mr Jackson said recorded statements given in the police interview amounted to admissions the Crown says count against him. The jury was told Mr Rotondo accepted he used the email account, sent the images, controlled the website and altered images using a website.

Mr Jackson told the court Mr Rotondo described making deepfakes as “just a hobby” and said it was “funny”. The prosecutor said the police interview, including further remarks attributed to Mr Rotondo about deepfakes, would be played during the trial. The trial continues.