A man in custody accused of sending deepfake images to Queensland schools and sporting associations is also facing legal proceedings initiated by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner.
Anthony Rotondo, also known as Antonio, appeared in a Gold Coast court on Saturday on charges of obscene publications and exhibitions after he was taken into custody the previous day.
His arrest on those charges followed a warrant issued by the Federal Court regarding alleged contempt of court after the 53-year-old was ordered to remove intimate images of six individuals from a website.
The warrant signed by Justice Darryl Rangiah states Rotondo allegedly disobeyed an interim order by failing to take all reasonable steps to remove from a website intimate images of six identified individuals as soon as practicable.
It also alleges Rotondo sent an email copied to 49 recipients in addition to two email addresses for the eSafety Commissioner that distributed documents and attached an intimate image.
During an interlocutory hearing in the Federal Court on Friday, Justice Roger Derrington was told Rotondo was not arrested for the alleged contempt of court, but instead on police charges.
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Detectives received a complaint in September that a Brisbane school had been sent an email that included deepfake images of students and teachers, police said earlier.
Detectives allege a number of similar incidents occurred at other facilities and businesses in southeast Queensland.
A deepfake is a digital photo, video or sound file of a real person edited to create a realistic but false depiction of them doing or saying something they did not do or say.
Police arrested Rotondo sitting at a table with a laptop in a Southport apartment on October 27.
He appeared in Southport Magistrates Court on Saturday on five counts of obscene publications and exhibitions, one count of obscene publication and exhibition of a child under 16 years and one count of endangering property by fire.
During Rotondo’s appearance by video link, without a lawyer, on Friday, Justice Derrington said he would ask the Bar Association if someone would represent him without charge.
Justice Derrington told Rotondo that if a person is found to have been in contempt the consequences would be vastly minimised if the person had subsequently done what the court originally ordered.
Asked if he would take steps to comply with the orders if arrangements are made for access to a computer, Rotondo said he would.
A directions hearing for the Federal Court proceedings has been listed for November 24.
Rotondo is due to appear again on the police charges in Southport Magistrates Court on November 14.
