Police investigating 'highly offensive' child porn website allegedly targeting Australian schoolgirls

Australian police are investigating an alleged child porn website that encourages teenagers to upload nude photos of schoolgirls.

A laptop keyboard

File photo Source: AAP

Australian police are investigating a "highly offensive" website that allegedly targets school children and encourages boys to upload naked pictures of girls.

Queensland Police's Taskforce Argos, which investigates child exploitation, confirmed it was working with interstate counterparts to try to trace the site.

It's believed students at about 70 schools around Australia are involved, including 18 in Queensland.

"The website appears to be in the format of a message chat forum where you can upload photos from various school or various locations around Australia," Townsville Police Detective Senior Sergeant David Miles told ABC Radio on Wednesday.

The Queensland Education Department is concerned about the wellbeing of students after learning of its existence.

"This website is highly offensive. We will work with other agencies- including police- as a matter of urgency to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all our students," a spokesperson said.

Two Tasmanian schools have been linked to the site and the state's education Minister Jeremy Rockliff says authorities are trying to find out more.

"This has taken cyber bullying to another more extreme level," he said told parliament.

"The allegations of an extremely serious cyber safety incident suggest the involvement of two Tasmanian government schools - one college and one school."

Northern Territory police have so far not received any complaints and said there was "no evidence to suggest there's any NT involvement at the moment".
Victoria Police said it was aware of the site and confirmed it was hosted overseas.

"Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team are currently investigating and it would be inappropriate to comment further," it said in a statement.

Police are urging young Australians to be careful when posting and sharing photos on social media.

"They can spread quickly and sometimes be impossible to remove," Victoria Police said.

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Published 17 August 2016 12:36pm
Updated 17 August 2016 12:46pm
Source: AAP


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