A man accused of threatening to post AI-manipulated images online in the sextortion of three women has appeared in court for the first time.
Benjamin Michael Jomaa has been charged with sending explicit content to women via Facebook Messenger without obtaining their consent and threatening to disseminate AI-altered images of them over the internet.
The 31-year-old is accused of pressuring one of the women to provide more intimate photos and coercing her to engage in a sexual act against her will.
Sexual extortion, often referred to as ‘sextortion,’ involves blackmailing someone with the threat of releasing private or sexual images or videos unless they comply with the perpetrator’s demands.
Police searched Jomaa’s home on May 28 at Ettalong Beach on the NSW Central Coast and seized several electronic devices.
He was arrested and charged with 13 offences.
The three women, all aged in their 20s, were allegedly abused by Jomaa online between October 2024 and April 2025.
Jomaa was granted bail after the arrest.
He appeared briefly in Gosford Local Court for the first time today, represented by his lawyer Jessica Tohi.
Supported by two people, Jomaa walked out of the court building hidden underneath a coat.
He has been excused from attending court when the matter returns in two weeks and will remain on bail.
