A man who tried to coerce women into sending sexual photos by threatening to post AI deepfakes of them online will be released from prison.
Benjamin Michael Jomaa, 32, was in April imprisoned for 27 months after admitting trying to extort eight women with AI-manipulated photos he scraped from their social media profiles.
In one instance, Jomaa manipulated a photo of sisters holidaying in Thailand to make it appear like they were topless before sending the image to them.
"If you don't respond, the photos are going online," Jomaa said in another message a local court judge read during sentencing.
That court was told Jomaa meticulously trawled social media pages of the victims and downloaded pictures of them.
He digitally altered the images to create pornographic composites he sent to women he considered "easy targets", demanding they provide him authentic nude images.
But on Tuesday, Gosford District Court Judge David Wilson ruled a raft of mental health conditions including generalised anxiety disorder, major depression, severe stress and autism were better dealt with in the community than in jail.
Jomaa also possibly had "deep-seated sexual issues" that required treatment, Judge Wilson said.
He outlined the need to recognise the harm Jomaa's "unfortunate and abhorrent offending" brought upon his eight victims.
Judge Wilson placed Jomaa under a 27-month corrections order served outside jail, upholding his appeal to overturn the sentence of full-time custody.
He took Jomaa's lack of criminal history, prior good character and young age into account.
The former sales assistant, who dialled into court via an audiovisual link, sat still and wore a neutral expression while learning he was about to be released.
His conditions include having to live with his parents under curfew for at least 18 months and regular visits to his psychologist, psychiatrist and GP.
Jomaa will be allowed one internet-capable device to be kept under close watch by authorities.
He is banned from social media and encrypted messaging platforms and must not use generative AI to alter images and videos.
There was some confusion in the court on this point as all parties were clearly unfamiliar with AI, despite it being Jomaa's primary weapon of sextortion.
At one stage a bewildered Judge Wilson asked "what's Anthropic Claude?" when presented a list of AI platforms.
At another point, crown prosecutors suggested Jomaa's access to Google Gemini not be limited, even though it lets users generate images.
"Young people, Your Honour, we need more young people," defence barrister April Francis quipped.
Jomaa was charged in May 2025, two months before the NSW government introduced a bill to ban AI-generated sexual imagery.
Under the laws, editing a photo to create an intimate image of someone while being reckless as to their consent carries a maximum penalty of three years' imprisonment.
