Haileybury students caught up in ‘sickening’ sexually explicit group chat

Police will not take any further action against year 10 Haileybury boys who shared a “distressing” sexually explicit image, sparking outrage from women’s groups and cyber safety experts.

A Haileybury parent advised the school of a ‘distressing’ image in a group chat, which was reported to police.

Police will not take any further action against a group of year 10 Haileybury boys who shared a “sickening” sexually explicit image, sparking outrage from women’s groups and cyber safety experts.

However, school-based investigations are continuing, with further disciplinary action expected.

A source inside the school said the boys involved were “very confused as they were told it was over and there would be no consequences”.

A spokeswoman for Dandenong Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team detectives said that after a thorough assessment, they “will not be proceeding with any criminal charges or further investigation into the incident” at Haileybury.

As the Herald Sun revealed on Tuesday, the Haileybury boys shared a pornographic image in a group chat involving the sexual abuse of a young girl by an adult male and discussed it using misogynist and racist language.

It’s estimated that up to 20 boys in the elite school’s year level shared the image, before it came to the attention of a parent and then the school last week.

Haileybury principal Derek Scott confirmed a parent advised the school of the “distressing” image in the group chat, and immediately reported it to Victoria Police.

A Haileybury parent became aware of the Year 10 cricket Snapchat group chat and advised the school last Monday.

“All students involved were spoken to and their families were informed,” he said on Tuesday.

A high profile sporting administrator is a parent of one of the boys possibly involved and has been contacted for comment.

The exact nature of the image has not been confirmed by the school or police but sources connected to the school say the image involved pornographic abuse of a young girl and was shared to another ten boys outside the cricket team chat. One called the image “sickening”.

Mr Scott said Victoria Police “investigated the matter and advised the school that no further action would be taken.

“They recommended that the most appropriate course of action would be an internal school response, with an emphasis on education and support for the students involved to ensure they understand the seriousness of their actions,” he said.

“It has been made clear to the students that this behaviour is totally and unequivocally unacceptable. Haileybury has zero tolerance for this type of conduct. Internal investigations are continuing and appropriate disciplinary action will follow,” Mr Scott said.

Collective Shout director Melinda Tankard Reist called for an explanation for the lack of ongoing investigation by police, saying she had been overwhelmed with people expressing outrage.

“This situation needs a system-wide response. The lack of disciplinary action merely emboldens the criminal behaviour and suggests it is below the threshold for action,” she said.

Cyber safety expert and former police officer Susan McLean said the police response was “far from acceptable”.

“It sends a poor message to the boys that there will be no police consequences for their actions”.

Ms McLean questioned what form the police investigation took: “Did they talk to the boys? Did they get access to their social media accounts to see what was being shared?”

Mr Scott declined to comment further on Wednesday.

The exact nature of the image has not been confirmed by the school or police but sources connected to the school say the image involved pornographic abuse of a young girl.

The Haileybury group chat comes as Christian high school Luther College revealed it was rocked by a social media incident involving male students last year.

In a letter sent to parents on Tuesday, principal Jacqui Layfield confirmed the school had “promptly and professionally investigated offensive comments made by a small group of male students in a closed group chat”.

“Out of respect for the privacy, confidentiality, and procedural fairness of all students involved, I am not in a position to provide specific details,” she said.

The revelations came after “inaccurate rumours” emerged that students had been rating their peers on social media, which Ms Layfield said was not the case.

Originally published as Haileybury students caught up in ‘sickening’ sexually explicit group chat