A Supreme Court judge admits he gave "thorough and anxious" thought to jailing the two men at the centre of the Skype sex sandal at the Australian Defence Force Academy.
Instead, Acting Justice John Nield imposed 12-month good behaviour bonds on Daniel McDonald and Dylan Deblaquiere, both 21.
Justice Nield described as perverse and vulgar the men's actions in which McDonald, at Deblaquiere's suggestion, filmed consensual sex with a female cadet on a webcam and streamed it by Skype to fellow cadets in a nearby room in March 2011.
Justice Nield, in sentencing the pair in the ACT Supreme Court on Wednesday, was scathing of their behaviour.
"The offenders abused and degraded the complainant for their own perverse satisfaction," he said, noting neither had expressed regret or remorse.
McDonald told outrageous and blatant lies about how the victim - referred to as Kate - consented to the broadcast.
"He acted deliberately and intentionally to abuse and degrade her," he said.
Justice Nield said while the broadcast was "tasteless and vulgar" it was seen by a limited audience.
He said both men had good prospects of rehabilitation, while any deterrent effect of a jail sentence already had been achieved through extensive media coverage.
Outside the court, Kate, now married, said the sentencing ended two-and-a-half years of turmoil.
"I now look forward to a new, positive chapter in my life," she told reporters.
McDonald and Deblaquiere, through their lawyer Francis Cahill, said they were satisfied with the outcome.
"They are both relieved that the events of the last two-and-a-half years have culminated today. They can now get on with their lives," he said.
McDonald was convicted of committing an act of indecency, an offence which carries a maximum seven-year jail term.
Both men also were convicted of using a telecommunications carriage service in an offensive manner, which carries a maximum three-year jail term.
Deblaquiere is no longer a cadet at the academy, while McDonald will see what Defence decides about his future.
During the trial, McDonald was wrongly implicated in another sex scandal involving a group of footballers at the academy.
Defence said it was aware an ADFA cadet had been sentenced over the Skype incident.
"Administrative action has been initiated. While this action is under way, Defence will not publicly discuss deliberations concerning an individual's service in the Australian Defence Force," it said.
