A man who sent millions of derogatory emails during the 2020 Eden-Monaro by-election making false claims about MP Kristy McBain has been handed a 20-month jail sentence to be served in the community.
The Penrith District Court heard Blacktown resident Cheng Fan, 34, was delusional and suffering a range of mental illnesses when he sent those emails, along with others sent about former Wentworth MP Kerryn Phelps during the 2019 federal election.
The emails about Ms McBain were sent to 24 million people, and successfully landed in the inbox of about a million.
They included untrue claims that the screams of children could be heard from Ms McBain's basement.
Some of the emails falsely appeared to come from addresses related to the Catholic Archdiocese in Sydney, which received more than 40 formal complaints.
The court also heard Fan sent at least 500 emails which included racist and homophobic slurs about Wentworth candidate Kerryn Phelps.
Police found evidence that at least 500 people, and probably more, had received the emails about Dr Phelps.
Fan pleaded guilty to charges of releasing misleading and deceptive matter in an election period, using a carriage service to menace and dealing in identification information and using it to commit fraud.
During sentencing, Judge Karen Robinson said Ms McBain and Dr Phelps had feared for their safety after the emails were sent.
"The offending is described by [Ms McBain] as have shaken her in a way...
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