SA Police continue investigation into ‘Adelaide Girls’ nude website, seek to have Federal Authorities block internet access to photos

IMAGES of Amy Cornes, the daughter of South Australian football legend Graham, have surfaced on a US website that features stolen nude photos of more than 400 Adelaide women and teens.

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IMAGES of Amy Cornes, the daughter of South Australian football legend Graham, have surfaced on a US website that features stolen nude photos and “revenge porn” of more than 400 Adelaide women and teens.

The 21-year-old has vowed not to let the “pathetic people” behind the site get to her and has re-uploaded one of the images – which features her in a shower – to her Facebook page in defiance, after finding the two-year-old photos on the website this week.

“I’m not happy about them being on the internet. But it’s done now,” she said about the photos, which she says were initially taken as a joke by friends.

“We’ve still got the power to not give these people the satisfaction ... I don’t know what they hope to gain but I assume it’s about getting a reaction to hurt and damage these girls.

“I don’t think pathetic people like this should be able to win.”

Ms Cornes’s mother, Nicole, said she was impressed with the way her daughter had handled the situation, which was a “big wake-up call” for girls everywhere.

“She was very lucky because the pictures were not that risque. It would affect a lot of girls if it were a lot more explicit photograph and I think it raises awareness for this generation how easy it is that your images . . . are at risk of being exploited,” she said.

“We have to work out how to educate our children with this technology and how to educate ourselves.”

SA police will seek to have federal authorities block access to the website, confirming they are liaising with the Australian Communications and Media Authority as part of its investigation into the illicit website.

ACMA has the power, under federal legislation, to block Australian ISPs from accessing sites featuring illegal material, most often child exploitation material.

Police have also called on victims whose images feature on the site to file reports through the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (ACORN) to help bolster the case.

Detective Senior Sergeant Barry Blundell, from SA Police’s Electronic Crime Section, said reports from victims would assist the ongoing investigation.

“When we identify the people who have posted this material, we can use the ACORN reports to go back and speak to those complainants,” he said.

“In speaking to them, we will gather the evidence that supports the display of these images being a criminal offence, which will in turn aid prosecution of the offenders.”

Yesterday, The Advertiserrevealed the existence of the site after being alerted by victims whose photographs are being displayed and offered for downloading without their permission.

They said the images were taken from private Facebook accounts or shared by former boyfriends as “revenge porn”.

The site promises access to more than 400 Adelaide “chicks” in various states of undress, while verbally abusing victims and telling them “you cannot do anything to stop us”.

One of the site’s moderators, meanwhile, claimed it was immune from prosecution because it is based in the US.

Today, Det Snr Sgt Blundell said SA Police had briefed ACMA about the situation and asked the watchdog consider blocking Australian access to the site.

He said that, regardless of the site’s location, any Australian who supplied it with images could be prosecuted.

Det Snr Sgt Blundell said that, since publication of the article, SA Police had received “a number of reports” through CrimeStoppers and 11 reports through ACORN.

ACORN serves as a national database of reports about cybercrime, from pornography to bullying, for all law-enforcement agencies.

“When a member of the public makes a report through ACORN, it means there’ll be a timely response because all the reports go to one central, accessible place,” he said.

“We’re encouraging anyone affected by this to report through ACORN so we can give that timely response.

“All SA Police officers, around the state, have been told to enter any reports made to them into ACORN.”

Meanwhile, Independent Senator for SA Nick Xenaphon has called for a revamp of state and Federal law to address cybercrime.

He called for greater streamlining of victim complaints, heavier penalties for offenders and a fast-track mechanism for ACMA to shut down illict sites, including those overseas.

“Our current laws do not adequately protect victims of this ‘revenge porn’ which can be incredibly damaging and harmful to the victims involved,” he said.

He praised reform led by Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications, Paul Fletcher but said the law “now needs to go much further given what we are now seeing”.

To make a report to the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network, visit www.acorn.gov.au