A teenager was arrested and subsequently released after fake nude images of 50 female students at a private school in Australia were circulated on social media.
Images of the students from Bachhus Marsh Grammar School in Victoria were doctored using artificial intelligence to create “obscene” and “incredibly graphic” content before being shared on Instagram and Snapchat, the school said.
The pictures were lifted from the social media handles of girls enrolled in senior and senior secondary school.
“Officers have been told a number of images were sent to a person in the Melton area via an online platform on Friday, 7 June,” police said.
“Police have arrested a teenager in relation to explicit images being circulated online. He was released pending further inquiries.”
School principal Andrew Neal called the incident “appalling”.
“It is something that strikes to the heart of students, particularly girls growing up at this age,” he told ABC News.
“They should be able to learn and go about their business without this kind of nonsense."
The students are receiving support as the school works with investigators to remove the images from social media, the principal said.
"Logic would suggest that the most likely individual is someone at the school,” Mr Neal said, “or a group of people from the school.”
However, he added, “the police and the school are not ruling out any other possibility”.
The mother of one of the girls said she was picking up her 16-year-old from a sleepover when she saw the doctored pictures.
Her daughter was “very upset and she was throwing up”, she told ABC Radio Melbourne, adding that the images were “incredibly graphic”.
“I mean they are children. The photos were mutilated, and so graphic. I almost threw up when I saw it,” she said.
“Fifty girls is a lot. It is really disturbing. How can we reassure them that once measures are in place, it won’t happen again?”
The incident drew condemnation from Victorian premier Jacinta Allan, who said women and girls deserve respect.
“My thoughts are with the young women of Bacchus Marsh Grammar and their families. There is no place for this disgraceful and misogynistic conduct in Victoria,” Ms Allan said.
“Women and girls deserve respect in class, online and everywhere else in our community, which is why we have made laws against this behaviour and we are teaching respectful relationships in schools to stop violence before it starts.”
