A man who posted deepfake pornographic images of prominent Australian women has been slapped with a hefty fine as a “strong message” in a first-of-its-kind case.

The Federal Court ordered Anthony Rotondo, also known as Antonio, to pay a $343,500 penalty plus costs on Friday after the online regulator eSafety Commissioner brought a case against him almost two years ago.

Rotondo admitted to posting the images on a website called MrDeepFakes.com, which has since been shut down.

The regulator had argued a significant civil penalty was needed to reflect the seriousness of the Online Safety Act breaches and the damaging impact the image-based abuse had on the women targeted.

“This action sends a strong message about the consequences for anyone who perpetrates deepfake image-based abuse,” the

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