A man who posed as a woman in an online classifieds ad, luring victims to his Melbourne apartment to fulfil a "fantasy", has been jailed.
Peter Valsamakis, 42, posted ads on classifieds site Locanto, pretending to be "Michelle" and asking men to arrive at his South Yarra apartment, put on a blindfold and strip naked before taking part in sex acts.
The County Court was told on Tuesday when the clients would contact Valsamakis, he would respond with images of women and female genitalia.
One man, who was fellated while blindfolded, removed the blindfold and said: "You're not Michelle. You're supposed to be a girl."
Another victim, a 26-year-old man, responded to Valsamakis' ad seeking a "toy boy".
When he arrived at Valsamakis' apartment, he was suspicious and did not take off his clothes as planned.
Through his blindfold, https://paperheart29.blogspot.com/ he saw that Valsamakis was a man and hit him in the face and took his phone.
A 20-year-old victim responded to an ad asking for a man to "fulfil my fantasy".
He went to the apartment, undressed himself and put the blindfold on, with Valsamakis entering and performing a sex act.
The complainant removed his blindfold to find a man masturbating in front of him.
On his way out of the apartment, he chanced upon another man who was on his way to meet "Michelle", and the two hatched a plan to steal Valsamakis' television.
Valsamakis then contacted police complaining of a theft and burglary.
Sentencing him on Tuesday, Judge Patricia Riddell said Valsamakis described the time of his offending as a "dark period" in his life.
He had started working as an escort to maintain his lifestyle of drug use.
Valsamakis had also told a psychologist he had a "subconscious desire to be arrested" so the conduct would end.
He has claimed he has no intention of re-entering the sex industry and Judge Riddell found his risk of reoffending low.
Judge Riddell said the victims, mainly young men, had "placed themselves in a vulnerable position" and had a "sense of violation".
Valsamakis pleaded guilty to charges including indecent assault, procuring sexual penetration by fraud and working as a sex worker while unlicensed.
He was jailed for 18 months, of which he has already served 503 days.
Upon release, Valsamakis will serve a two-year community corrections order and must undergo mental health and drug treatment.