Latest news with #GosfordLocalCourt
The Advertiser
3 days ago
- General
- The Advertiser
Man accused of using AI images of women for sextortion
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 is accused of sending sexual material to the women without their consent on Facebook messenger and threatening to distribute AI-manipulated images of them online. The 31-year-old allegedly demanded to be sent more intimate pictures and encouraged one of the women to participate in a sexual act without her consent. Sexual extortion or 'sextortion' is a form of blackmail where a person threatens to share a nude or sexual image or video unless their victim gives in to their 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 on Wednesday, 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. 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 is accused of sending sexual material to the women without their consent on Facebook messenger and threatening to distribute AI-manipulated images of them online. The 31-year-old allegedly demanded to be sent more intimate pictures and encouraged one of the women to participate in a sexual act without her consent. Sexual extortion or 'sextortion' is a form of blackmail where a person threatens to share a nude or sexual image or video unless their victim gives in to their 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 on Wednesday, 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. 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 is accused of sending sexual material to the women without their consent on Facebook messenger and threatening to distribute AI-manipulated images of them online. The 31-year-old allegedly demanded to be sent more intimate pictures and encouraged one of the women to participate in a sexual act without her consent. Sexual extortion or 'sextortion' is a form of blackmail where a person threatens to share a nude or sexual image or video unless their victim gives in to their 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 on Wednesday, 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. 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 is accused of sending sexual material to the women without their consent on Facebook messenger and threatening to distribute AI-manipulated images of them online. The 31-year-old allegedly demanded to be sent more intimate pictures and encouraged one of the women to participate in a sexual act without her consent. Sexual extortion or 'sextortion' is a form of blackmail where a person threatens to share a nude or sexual image or video unless their victim gives in to their 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 on Wednesday, 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.
Daily Mail
29-04-2025
- Daily Mail
Inquest to probe how Audrey Griffin's accused killer obtained razor before prison suicide
An inquest into the prison cell suicide of Audrey Griffin's accused killer will examine how he obtained a razor blade to take his own life. Ms Griffin's family will no longer be able to seek justice in a courtroom after the death of Adrian Torrens, 53, who was charged with the murder of the popular teenager after she left a NSW Central Coast pub on March 22 following a night out. Torrens was arrested a month later off the back of a tip-off to police and was initially placed into a solitary high-risk cell at Silverwater prison, where he was assessed by corrections staff and counsellors. He was then moved to a two-person cell on April 24 after those discussions and was dead hours later. It's understood Torrens had asked to borrow a razor from his cellmate so he could shave for court the next day, despite that being the Anzac Day public holiday when courts are closed. Daily Mail Australia understands he used the razor blade in an attempt to take his own life. Prison staff found him unresponsive at 4.50pm and immediately called paramedics, but prison sources say it took 40 minutes for them to arrive. A prison source has questioned whether Torrens may have survived his suicide attempt if the ambulance had arrived sooner - raising questions about a missed opportunity for justice and closure for Ms Griffin's grieving family. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by prison staff or NSW Ambulance, however, the death will be investigated by police for the coroner as part of a public inquest. Before his death, Torrens had a string of apprehended violence orders against him going back to 2014 and had left multiple threatening messages on the phone of his estranged partner on the day he allegedly murdered Ms Griffin, who he did not know. NSW Chief Magistrate Judge Michael Allen spared Torrens jail time when he pleaded guilty to domestic violence offending - instead imposing an 18-month community correction order. He had pleaded guilty to using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend and contravening a domestic AVO in relation to his ex-partner. Torrens also had multiple listings before both Gosford Local Court and the Downing Centre for AVOs taken out to protect a woman believed to be his estranged wife. Torrens had 11 other charges against him when he was charged with murder. These included two counts of knowingly contravene an AVO for the third time in 28 days, knowingly contravene an AVO prohibition and eight charges of contravening an AVO. Torrens also had AVOs taken out against him by two different women, in 2018 and in 2014. As part of the 18-month order he was given earlier this year, he was required to regularly report to a community corrections office, which he had not done on multiple occasions. Two weeks after Ms Griffin's death he reportedly appeared 'distressed' at one of these meetings, which he put down to his relationship breakdown and his mother being ill. Torrens is from Sydney but his estranged ex Michelle lives on the Central Coast with her two children. She told Daily Mail Australia she reconnected with Torrens decades after they met at school and had been with him for two years before they separated in September. Michelle then tried to block him out of her life. But in the hours leading up to Audrey's murder and after, he bombarded her with a string of chilling threats. 'He rang me 12 times and because he was blocked, I was receiving them as text messages,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'He started calling from 7pm and the last phone call was at 12.10am on the night he killed her. 'He kept threatening to kill my son and I… my children are completely traumatised.' A distraught Michelle said both she and Audrey had been let down by the legal system. She also revealed she and her family had been living in fear for several months. 'My heart goes out to Audrey's family,' she said. 'I do feel let down by the police and the judge, on the first night of the AVO, the very first AVO, the police took four hours to come here to do a welfare check. 'When he breached his AVO [that was taken out] to protect me, they took five months to find him. 'I lived in fear he would carry out one of his threats.' Police earlier this month appealed to the public for new information as they released a CCTV screenshot of Torrens walking near a Gosford pub on the night Ms Griffin died. They had the footage for weeks but did not realise its significance until an associate of Torrens tipped them off that he had confessed to them he killed her. Audrey was preparing to begin a ten-week officer training course in April with the Royal Australian Navy. She had visited the Central Coast - where she grew up - to see her grandparents and invite her friends to a farewell party in Sydney the next weekend. Detectives believe Torrens followed Ms Griffin, whom he didn't know, from the pub before assaulting her. Police said Torrens' DNA was found under Griffin's fingernails and that a witness heard a high-pitched scream in the area around 3am. He was later arrested and charged with Griffin's murder after he was identified from the CCTV footage. Audrey was a much-loved member of the Terrigal Sharks rugby league and local lifesaving clubs. After completing her HSC in 2023, Ms Griffin juggled training and a part-time job at Crown Plaza Terrigal along with study commitments at University of Technology Sydney. Just weeks before her death, she had competed in the New Zealand half-ironman. Audrey was also a former member of the Gosford Water Polo ladies team. 'Audrey touched everyone, not just in her community but all over the country. She was the light in many of our lives,' a family statement on a GoFundMe read. 'There is no doubt she brought endless laughter and joy to everyone. 'She was the kindest soul to walk this earth and will always be in our hearts.' Ms Griffin was also a dedicated member of the Terrigal Wamberal Sharks rugby league club, having played junior and senior football. 'With a larger-than-life personality, and happy-go-lucky nature, Audrey would hit with sting then check that they were OK, and then skip to each of the scrums,' the club said in a social media tribute to her. 'Audrey will be sorely missed by the Sharks family, may she rest in peace.' On Thursday evening, more than 1,000 people gathered on a NSW beach to honour Audrey just hours after her killer was found dead in his jail cell. Her mother, Kathleen Kirby, shared a heartbreaking post hours before the crowd, dressed in white, flocked to Terrigal Beach on the Central Coast at dusk. 'Let's focus today on unity, remembrance, and the love we all share for Audrey,' Ms Kirby said. 'It's about standing together, remembering her light, and showing — through our presence — that we want change, awareness, and a safer future for everyone.'
Daily Mail
25-04-2025
- Daily Mail
The full inside story of how teenage athlete Audrey Griffin's alleged killer Adrian Torres was spared jail months before she was murdered and he took his own life
The accused killer who allegedly murdered 19-year-old Audrey Griffin was spared jail for sinister offending just months before she was killed. The bombshell revelation came after Adrian Noel Torrens, 53, committed suicide while in custody three days after his arrest for allegedly murdering Ms Griffin. It can be revealed NSW Chief Magistrate Judge Michael Allen spared Torrens jail time when he pleaded guilty to domestic violence offending - instead imposing an 18-month community correction order. Judge Allen sentenced Torrens at Downing Centre Local Court on January 16 after he pleaded guilty to using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend and contravening a domestic AVO in relation to his ex-partner. Torrens also had multiple listings before both Gosford Local Court and the Downing Centre for AVOs taken out to protect a woman believed to be his estranged wife. At the time of his death, Torrens was facing eleven charges other than murder. These included two counts of knowingly contravene an AVO for the third time in 28 days, knowingly contravene an AVO prohibition and eight charges of contravening an AVO. Torrens also had AVOs taken out against him by two different women, in 2018 and in 2014. NSW Chief Magistrate Judge Michael Allen (pictured) spared Torrens jail time in January for domestic violence offending Torrens was supposed to be serving Judge Allen's imposed court order when he allegedly murdered Ms Griffin on Sydney's Central Coast in March. Ms Griffin had spend a night celebrating with friends at the Gosford Hotel on the night of March 22. She left the pub at 2am and walked towards her father's house in Terrigal after unsuccessfully trying to get an Uber. Friends followed her movements via Snapchat's SnapMaps feature, a live tracker of a user's whereabouts, which can be seen by selected contacts. She also sent them two videos while walking home. Instead of arriving home, Ms Griffin crossed paths with Torrens. Police quietly investigated the alleged link between the pair in the weeks following Ms Griffin's death. They found Torrens' DNA under Ms Griffin's fingernails and discovered a mobile ping in the Erina Creek area on the same night from Torrens' phone. Torrens was found unresponsive in his cell at Silverwater Jail in Sydney 's west about 4.50pm on Thursday and couldn't be revived by paramedics and corrective services officers. Daily Mail Australia also revealed today the government department tasked with keeping Torrens alive so he can face trial for Ms Griffin's alleged murder sent condolences to people 'affected by his death'. A Corrective Services NSW spokeswoman said the death in custody had been reported to the state coroner and would be subject to a public inquest. 'Corrective Services NSW and NSW Police investigate all deaths in custody regardless of the circumstances,' she said in a statement. 'Corrective Services NSW extends its deepest sympathies to the family of Audrey Griffin at this distressing time. But in a statement, the department also stated it 'sends condolences to any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people affected by Mr Torrens' death. Daily Mail Australia understands that it is standard procedure for the department to send condolence messages whenever an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person dies in custody, despite the crimes they may have committed. The statement came just hours after Ms Griffin's family was advised of his death as hundreds attended a beach vigil in her memory on Thursday night. Torrens was arrested in Sydney on Monday – a month after Ms Griffin's body was found in Erina Creek on the NSW Central Coast. Her death was not initially deemed suspicious because a preliminary autopsy indicated she had drowned. Last week, detectives published Torrens' image in a public appeal to locate him. Torrens admitted killing the 19-year-old to an associate not long after in a phone call obtained by police. 'Why did I do it? I don't know, I do not, I just f***ing clicked and I have no reason for my actions, I just did it man,' Torrens said in the call, according to the Daily Telegraph. 'I was so f***ed up, you know I was awake for four or five f***ing days, and I just did it.' In another call, Torrens said: 'I killed someone about a month ago and now they're looking for me'. Another witness told police they recognised Torrens in the CCTV, and that he had told them 'he left her body in the mangroves'. Following this week's arrest, detectives were set to allege Torrens assaulted Ms Griffin - with blows to the face - and knocked her unconscious in the shallow creek; or that he held her underwater to kill her. Many Australians were outraged by the police force's initial suggestion that Ms Griffin's death was 'not suspicious.' On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Brisbane Water Police District said investigators wanted to provide answers for the family and the community following the four week investigation. 'This has not sat well with us as investigators from the outset and that's why we stood up the strike-force,' the spokesperson said. 'There has been a number of lines of inquiry leading up to the arrest yesterday but, significantly, on Friday morning, we received information which transferred the case to a homicide investigation.' Ms Griffin's mother Kathleen Kirby told Daily Mail Australia this week that she 'just wanted justice' for her young daughter. She said her daughter was a fit, intelligent and beautiful young woman who 'had the world at her feet'. Ms Kirby said the pair exchanged messages while she was in Gosford, and she told daughter she was proud of her and loved her very much. News of Torrens' death came just hours after hundreds of mourners gathered to celebrate Ms Griffin's life at Terrigal Beach near her home. In the evening, loved ones, strangers, teammates and detectives flooded the beach dressed in white. Ms Kirby told the crowd sunset was Ms Griffin's favourite time of day. 'My heart is full. As full as it can be right now,' she told Nine News. 'We need change, we need a lot of change.' Her daughter's friend Anna Jenkins added: 'Anyone should be able to walk home at night and not be worried when they do that.' At twilight, the gathering paused in silence to remember the 19-year-old. Family and friends described Ms Griffin was a 'determined athlete, talented student and well-liked teenager'. A fortnight before her death, the popular and sporty teenager had travelled to New Zealand to compete in the gruelling ANZCO half-ironman event, which she completed in just over six-and-a-half hours. She was also preparing to begin a 10-week officer training course in April with the Royal Australian Navy after visiting Japan earlier this year. Ms Griffin was visiting the Central Coast - where she grew up - to see her grandparents and invite her friends to a farewell party in Sydney the next weekend. 'She was the kindest soul to walk this earth and will always be in our hearts,' a GoFundMe for her family said. Anti-violence against women campaigner Sherele Moody posted on social media 'there'll be no justice for Audrey Griffin' after Torrens' death. 'Like every single woman, 19-year-old Audrey had had every right to walk the street at anytime of day or night without some thug killing her,' Ms Moody posted. 'She had every right to live a long life full of peace and happiness.' 'She had every right to not be a victim of femicide. Male violence is an epidemic in Australia - we can't even have a night out without being killed.' A spokesman for NSW Corrections Minister Anoulack Chanthivong said thoughts were with those who knew Ms Griffin. 'The minister for corrections acknowledges this very difficult time for the family and loved ones of Audrey Griffin, noting this case will now not be able to be prosecuted through the courts,' he said. For confidential 24-hour support in Australia call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Yahoo
Teacher 'victim of vigilante pedophile hunters'
A former teacher accused of trying to have sex with a teenager claims he was the victim of vigilante pedophile hunters. A NSW magistrate heard on Wednesday how a vigilante gang had entered the home of former Central Coast Grammar junior school teacher David Beeby, and bashed and robbed him. Defence lawyer Brian Walker told Gosford Local Court that Beeby was knocked to the ground and repeatedly punched and kicked in "quite a vicious assault". Beeby, 39, has pleaded not guilty to attempting to procure a child aged between 14 and 16 for unlawful sex at Terrigal in January 2024. The police case against Beeby, who has since left Central Coast Grammar, was that he was at his Terrigal home on January 24 last year when he made contact with a person calling themselves Jeremy on the Grindr app between 11.30pm and 12.30am. Beeby was allegedly using the tag name Tezzz when he started texting Jeremy. Police claimed Jeremy asked: "Is 15 too young? Lol. I've done this before. It's just hard to find anyone". Jeremy later allegedly texted: "I'm 15, I've done this before. I won't tell anyone". Beeby allegedly replied that he had no problems with that. Detective Senior Constable Miranda Faith told the court the former teacher had gone to police after being bashed and robbed at his home. Det Faith said police were aware of claims Beeby had been trying to arrange to have sex with a 15-year-old boy and seized his mobile phone. The phone was examined and found to have multiple Grindr chats between Beeby and others. The Grindr app legal unit downloaded the alleged chats between Beeby and Jeremy, and provided them to police. Det Faith said Beeby gave a statement where he claimed he believed Jeremy was 17, not 15. She said the Grindr app chats allegedly indicated Jeremy was 15. A person can still be charged with attempting to procure a child for sex even if that child is fictitious. Beeby was allegedly attacked and robbed after leaving the gate open at his Terrigal complex for Jeremy. Beeby's defence lawyer told the court the police case involved a lot of hearsay, with the people involved in attacking Beeby refusing to say who had been posing as Jeremy. Mr Walker said the case was similar to one in the Tasmanian Supreme Court in 2019 where the chief justice found the accused, facing a similar charge to Beeby, had been the victim of entrapment by the witness. The judge said the witness, from NSW, had described himself as a "pedophile hunter" who made contact with the accused on Grindr pretending to be a 14-year-old boy. The witness videoed a later meeting with the accused and posted the recording on YouTube, claiming the accused was a pedophile. Refusing to allow the witness's evidence, the Tasmanian judge said the witness had incited the crime through entrapment which put the accused at risk of violence from others. The Gosford court hearing before Magistrate Rosheehan O'Meagher continues. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
