A Sydney man, Peter Lewis Sheather, 42, has been prosecuted for "sexting," or forwarding sexual messages to nine women. Messages, photographs and videos had been sent between Dec. 2013 and Apr. 2014. Court documents show that most of the messages appear to have been sent from Bellevue Hill and Paddington in the eastern suburbs of Sydney in March, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

He is believed to be the first person in New South Wales who has been charged and prosecuted for the act. In April, the cops raided his home, and seized a few incriminating documents as well as laptops from his house. The Cammeray resident was then slapped with nine charges of using a carriage service to offend and harass. Magistrate Roger Prowse slammed a sentence on him on Thursday, declaring at least three years jail: "If you had to look up the word depraved, you would find an entry: Peter Sheather."

Sheather was not known to any of the victims, but while working at a pool maintenance centre, he had taken their phone numbers, according to the Downing Centre Local Court. He called many of his victims by name in his messages, saying, "I'd love to f*** you in your pool", according to smh.com.

One of the the women had threatened that she would complain to the police with one of his videos of a lewd act that he had sent her, but he had replied: "You don't even know who it is."

Sheather as a boy had been abused repeatedly. Recently, he sought to be treated for depression. The magistrate, Mr Prowse, refused to permit adjournment of the sentence, in order to help Sheather go through some psychological tests and assessment. "Depression does not equal depravity," Mr Prowse said. "Just imagine the outrage of the victims if he wasn't jailed." Calling his behavior and record "hideous", Prowse gave him a weak chance of getting rehabilitated. However, everyone is sure that he will now put up a plea against the sentence.

Unfortunately, while Sheather was the first to be prosecuted for sexting, experts feel, according to Daily Mail that this is a phenomenon that is rife due to the widespread use of smartphones and social media apps. Young people are prone to it. In August, 2013, Australian politician Peter Dowling was forced to resign his post of chief of Queensland parliament's ethics committee, admitting that he could not defend the messages he sent to his lover.