Sydney 'sexter' sent to court over texts

A Sydney man has appeared in court to face multiple charges of "sexting" in one of the first legal cases in Australia involving the social phenomenon.

Peter Lewis Sheather, 41, briefly appeared at Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday over lewd text messages he allegedly sent using his iPhone between March and April this year.

The Cammeray resident has been charged with nine counts of using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend.

Court documents show most of them are alleged to have originated in Bellevue Hill and Paddington in Sydney's eastern suburbs between 7am and 7pm in March.

One charge relates to a text message sent at 1.47am on March 20.

NSW Police said they raided Sheather's home and seized laptops and documents.

He was apprehended by police on April 23 and granted bail to appear in court on Thursday.

Police say the texts that Sheather sent depicted "nudity and lewd acts" .

There have been very few, if any prosecutions for sexting in Australia.

The phenomenon is said to have spread rapidly with the uptake of smartphones and social media apps like Snapchat.

Teenagers and younger people are said to be among the most prolific "sexters", but politicians, celebrities and athletes have also been known to indulge.