Northern Territory: a former NT Police assistant commissioner says an AI-generated sexually explicit video made from her official police photograph was circulated among serving officers; she learned of it in December 2025 and issued a statement after criminal proceedings against former colleagues concluded (ABC News, 24 September 2026)

ABC News (24 September 2026) reported that a former Northern Territory Police assistant commissioner had taken her old colleagues to court for sharing a deepfake sexually explicit video that used her professional photograph. Janelle Tonkin issued a statement the previous day, after criminal proceedings on the issue were finalised, saying: 'In December 2025, I became aware that an AI-generated, sexually explicit video had been created using my official Northern Territory Police photograph.' The video was then allegedly shared among serving members of the police force; the outcome of the court proceedings is unknown. She described what happened as 'extremely distressing, personally and professionally' and said: 'Having my professional portrait photograph, taken in the course of my job turned into pornography and circulated among colleagues is something no person should have to experience, at work or anywhere else.' Now president of the Australasian Council of Women and Policing, she said the deepfake video was not an isolated incident but sat within a broader set of experiences in the organisation that she had not yet spoken about publicly and intended to describe in full when the time was right, adding that there remained real work to do from the most senior levels of the force to the rank and file to build a workplace where every officer is treated with safety, respect and support. An NT Police Force spokesperson said the force does not comment on internal investigations and was legally constrained from commenting on matters before the court, but that the conduct Commander Tonkin was subjected to 'was, and always will be, totally unacceptable', that the force has zero tolerance for bullying, and that recruits are taught standards of conduct including respect and anti-harassment. The NT Police Association's president said the creation or sharing of sexually explicit material including AI-generated content can cause serious harm and has no place in a workplace, that Ms Tonkin was entitled to dignity and respect, and that members found to have acted inappropriately should be dealt with through criminal or disciplinary processes; the association could not confirm details of any internal investigation.

A senior police officer's official portrait was used to create an AI-generated sexually explicit video that was allegedly circulated among her serving colleagues; she describes the experience as extremely distressing personally and professionally (her own statement as reported by ABC News). The circulation and the court proceedings are as described by ABC News; the proceedings' outcome is not reported.

ABC News reports that Ms Tonkin 'has taken her old colleagues to court' and issued her statement 'after criminal proceedings on the issue were finalised'; the outcome of the proceedings is described as unknown. NT Police said it does not comment on internal investigations and was legally constrained from commenting on matters before the court. The NT Police Association could not confirm details of an internal investigation or whether a broader investigation into sexism and bullying was under way.