Source : Perth Now news
An Adelaide private school graduate who created deepfake nude images of a teenage girl has been slammed by the woman whose dignity he cruelly snatched.
William Hamish Yeates, who graduated from the prestigious Mercedes College, is set to become the first person in South Australia to be convicted under new laws on deepfakes.
The 20-year-old, now a second year law student at the University of Adelaide, previously pleaded guilty to two counts each of using a carriage service to harass and creating sexual material without consent.
The shocking case is centred on the creation of deepfake nude images of teenage girl, which he published on X, formerly known as Twitter.
During an emotionally charged hearing at South Australia’s District Court on Tuesday, the courageous woman stood in front of her abuser and delivered a powerful statement.
“Before this happened, I was just a normal girl, finishing school, excited for my future, surrounded by my friends and family, living what I thought was a safe and happy life,” she said.
“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.”
The court was told Yeates had grown “infatuated” with the woman.
“You made the deliberate choice to strip away my dignity and turn me into something for your sick obsession,” she said.
“There is something deeply terrifying about knowing you took my face, my identity, and my trust, and turned it into a weapon against me.”
The woman went on to describe the devastating psychological impact his offending had on her, adding that he had “violated and exploited” her.
“The body in those images were not mine, but you somehow made me hate my body,” she added.
She closed her statement with an emphatic declaration.
“Despite everything, I am still here. I am not your victim, Will, I am the survivor.
“Your actions will not dictate my world, my future or the way I live, but it will become the reason why I help create change.
“My voice matters, my story matters. I will heal from this, I will move forwards.”
Having stood in the dock as his former friend spoke, Yeates himself issued a grovelling apology, describing his own actions as “repulsive”.
“I think it is important to recognise and acknowledge how unfair and gross my actions were and the pain it caused you,” he said.
“I also acknowledge that these words don’t justify anything and they are not intended to.
“To be plain, my actions were repulsive and will continue to plague my mind for as long as I breathe.
“There has not been a single minute that goes by where I’m not sorry for all the pain I’ve caused.
“These words are raindrops into the ocean – your words will stay with me forever.”
In mitigation, his lawyer Jane Powell said that Yeates lived with autism spectrum disorder, compulsive sexual offending disorder and persistent adjustment disorder, having been assessed by two psychologists, including Ellie Minney.
“It is Ms Minney’s opinion that ASD and related social cognitive difficulties rendered him more vulnerable to influence from misogynistic content.
“His exposure to that content made him think that showing photographs of woman in a sexually derogatory manner was okay.”
She said that her client had created and shared the images in an effort to gain the acceptance of a misogynistic community on social media.
She added that he had “well-documented remorse”.
Yeates will be sentenced next month.
