Two year 11 Gladstone Park Secondary students suspended amid explicit AI image scandal

Two year 11 Gladstone Park Secondary College students have been suspended and police are investigating the circulation of explicit, AI-generated photos of female pupils.

Police are investigating a fake nude scandal at Gladstone Park Secondary College. Picture: Supplied

Two students from a northwestern suburbs secondary school have been suspended after they allegedly shared sexually explicit photos of their peers that were generated using artificial intelligence.

Fawkner Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team detectives are investigating the incident which allegedly involved two year 11 students from Gladstone Park Secondary College.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said investigators were told an “unknown number of formal photos of female students” from the school were inappropriately manipulated using AI before being released online.

It’s understood up to 60 students could be affected.

“Detectives were first made aware of the matter on the afternoon of Thursday, 20 February, and are working to establish the number of victims involved in the incident,” she said.

“Police are currently providing support to identified victims, their families and the school. Investigations into the matter remain ongoing.”

The school has suspended the two year 11 boys as it investigates the incident.

Fawkner Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team detectives are investigating the incident.

A Department of Education spokeswoman described the behaviour as “misogynistic and disrespectful” and said such behaviour was unacceptable in any Victorian school.

“Gladstone Park Secondary College has taken appropriate disciplinary action and wellbeing support has been offered to any students who need it,” she said.

“Alongside parents, carers and the wider community, schools play a critical role in stamping out disrespectful behaviour – last year we launched updated Respectful Relationships materials to help students navigate misogyny and hate online, embed equality into every school and model respectful behaviours.”

Fawkner SOCIT Detective Sergeant Simon Garner described the incident as “disturbing” and “despicable”.

“The images are quite vulgar. I don’t think anyone whether they be children, whether they be adults, whether they be anybody, no one likes to have their images taken and manipulated in such a way like this,” he said.

“It’s hard to believe these kind of platforms are out there where they get these images and change them the way they do.”

Detective Sergeant Garner said police were yet to interview the boys believed to be involved and urged them to come forward.

“People can sometimes think this is a bit of a joke and they are unaware about the responsibility and the ongoing effects they have for the students and for the people who they’re doing it against could be really long lasting,” he said.

“We’re certainly putting the messages out there to say that these things aren’t acceptable … we’re not happy about it, we’re investigating it, we’re urging people who are thinking about doing these things, or have thought about doing these things to think twice.”

The images have been described as ‘quite vulgar’. Picture: Stock Image

More than 1950 Victorian government, Catholic and independent schools are signed up to the Victorian Government’s Respectful Relationships initiative, which supports them to embed respect and gender equality across the school community and support positive attitudes to women and girls.

The Gladstone Park incident comes five months after the Herald Sun revealed a year 8 Mount Scopus Memorial College student was given a warning after he sent inappropriate, doctored imaged of two other people in September.

The Box Hill Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation team interviewed the boy, before cautioning him over the incident.

In a separate incident, 50 female students in years nine to 12 were caught up in a “traumatising” fake AI nude scandal at Bacchus Marsh Grammar, while two male students from Yarra Valley Grammar were expelled after creating a cruel and misogynist spreadsheet assessing their female classmates in May.

In a lengthy letter to parents, principal Veronica Hoy said the explicit images involving other students at the school were allegedly shared via social media and group chats.

“This kind of misogynistic and disrespectful behaviour is entirely unacceptable at our school and appropriate disciplinary action has been taken,” she said.

“Further, please be advised that the sending of real or fake nude images is a crime. There are clear policies in place that require schools to report such incidents to police if students are involved.”

Ms Hoy encouraged parents to have a conversation with their children so they “understand the potential legal and social impacts sharing explicit images can have”.

“This includes discussing the wellbeing of the students directly involved and why it is important to discontinue conversations and messages about them,” she said.

Ms Hoy added the school’s wellbeing team was available to support all students and that her “door is always open” for parents to contact her if they have any further questions.

Parents had mixed feelings about the incident and took to social media to voice their concerns.

“I am happy with the swift action the school has taken but I also agree the offender should not be welcome back,” one parent said.

“Hopefully police action will teach the offenders a valuable lesson.”

Another parent added: “Sadly this is the technology age we live in and such tools like AI can be easily accessed.”

Victoria Police has urged anyone with information regarding the Gladstone Park Secondary College incident to contact Crime Stoppers.

Originally published as Two year 11 Gladstone Park Secondary students suspended amid explicit AI image scandal