By XAVIER SMERDON
FOUR western suburbs teenagers have been arrested for allegedly sharing an explicit photo of one of their fellow female pupils.
Wyndham Crime Investigation Unit detectives arrested the teens as part of an investigation into the distribution of an explicit photograph between students at a western suburbs secondary school.
As part of the investigation, police identified two current students and two former students who had obtained the image of a female student and allegedly sent the image to their friends and fellow students at the school.
The female victim believed that the image no longer existed until it was bought to her attention in mid-May.
Three 17-year-old boys and a 16-year-old girl were arrested and interviewed in relation to the offence of knowingly communicating a private activity on 25 May.
They have been released pending further enquiries.
Wyndham CIU Detective Senior Constable Steve Oakley, would not reveal which suburb the student’s school was located in but he did say that the photo had been seen by people from suburbs as far apart as Wyndham Vale and Mill Park.
As a result of this investigation, police discovered a further two incidents of explicit photograph sharing, both involving 14-year-old girls
These are now being investigated with further arrests expected to follow.
Det Sen Const Oakley said parents needed to be aware that these incidents had the potential to be enormously damaging to the lives of young people.
“Parents need to be vigilant and should speak to their children about the dangers of technology and online activity,’’ he said.
“It is important to talk to your child about the appropriate use of technology including digital cameras, iPhones and iPads. It’s really about creating an environment where you and your child feel safe and secure using electronic devices connected to the internet.”
“Once information is posted online, it is very difficult to have it removed permanently.”
