Private school graduate admits deepfake offence

A private school graduate is set to become the first person in South Australia to be convicted for creating sexually explicit deepfake images.

William Yeates, who attended Mercedes College which charges fees of up to $20,000 a year, entered guilty pleas to four counts of newly introduced offences relating to creation and distribution of deepfake images.

The 19-year-old appeared at Adelaide Magistrates Court on Wednesday, having become the first person in South Australia to be charged with the offences.

Court documents state that Yeates, who was 18 at the time, had “transmitted material” on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

They state that on different occasions between September 19, 2024 and Christmas Day, 2025, Yeates had used the platform to distribute images purporting to be of his victim’s breasts, without her consent.

Among the charges laid was creation or alteration of sexual material without consent.

Previously faced with a list of 24 charges, Yeates entered guilty pleas to four during a hearing in front of magistrate Justin Wickens.

He admitted:

• Using a carrier service in a harassing or offensive way on September 19, 2024

• Creating or altering sexual material without consent on October 28, 2024

• Using a carrier service in a harassing or offensive way on December 25, 2025

• Creating or altering sexual material without consent on February 8, 2025

The remaining charges were withdrawn and dismissed.

Mr Wickens adjourned the hearing until May 29, when a committal for sentence hearing will be held.

Yeates left the court in silence following the short hearing, declining to comment to the waiting media.

First created in 2024, the new federal offence was introduced in an effort to combat explicit deepfake images online.

Similar laws were then introduced in South Australia in late 2025, with Yeates becoming the first person to face conviction of the offence.

The offence comes with a maximum sentence of seven years in jail.