Man faces community service for making deepfake porn of TV host Welmoed Sijtsma

The Public Prosecution Service demanded on Thursday a 120-hour community service sentence and a two-month conditional prison sentence for a 39-year-old man from Amersfoort for creating and sharing a deepfake porn video of TV presenter and journalist Welmoed Sijtsma.

O.K. used footage of the TV presenter to create a pornographic video using deepfake technology. He superimposed Sijtsma's face onto the body of a porn actress engaged in a sexual act with a man and then posted the video on a website dedicated to such content. He was arrested in November 2022 and later confessed to creating and distributing the video.

According to the Public Prosecutor, “many people will not be able to distinguish between real and deepfake.” The consequences are profound, the OM pointed out, emphasizing that since the film is indeletable, it represents “a continuous, ‘eternal’ invasion of the victim's privacy.” The prosecutor highlighted that Sijtsma suffered both personally and professionally. “It is important that the consequences of these types of deepfakes become more widely known,” the OM added.

Sijtsma became aware of the fake porn video circulating about her online last year. She decided to make a four-part docuseries about it for broadcaster WNL titled "Welmoed and the Sex Fakes" on NPO3, in which she sought the person behind the video. With the help of an IT investigator, she identified K.

The Netherlands Forensic Institute retrieved the original images, and during the investigation, it was discovered that K. had produced several similar videos, superimposing the faces of American actresses onto pornographic scenes.

During the trial, K. explained that he made the videos out of curiosity to see if he could and to gauge others' appreciation of his work. "I didn't give it any thought," he said, claiming he had not considered the significant harm he was causing. After the video featuring Sijtsma stirred considerable controversy, he recognized his mistake. He sent an apology letter to Sijtsma, and according to his lawyer, she accepted his apology. K. mentioned that his choice of the WNL presenter was "random."

The OM demanded 120 hours of community service and a suspended two-month prison sentence with a two-year probation period. Given that K. is grappling with significant psychological issues and is under treatment, the Public Prosecution Service refrained from demanding an unconditional prison sentence. The prosecutor also noted that he confessed and “appears to sincerely regret the consequences of his actions.”