Good Shepherd Lutheran College in Noosaville expels students in porn scandal
Several students embroiled in a social media porn scandal have been expelled as a church school grapples with parent outrage.
QLD News
Don't miss out on the headlines from QLD News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Several of the 12 students at the centre of a pornographic social media scandal have been expelled from Good Shepherd Lutheran College as the embattled Noosaville school comes under increasing fire from furious parents.
The Courier-Mail understands a number of Year 8 students have been kicked out of the Christian private school while at least one other has been suspended.
It comes after shocking revelations by The Courier-Mail that the school failed to report the potentially illegal online material to police almost three months after being aware of it by an alarmed parent on February 27.
Mandatory reporting to police only occurred on May 16 by the college’s governing body, Lutheran Education Queensland – two months after it and the school were emailed a dropbox link of the offensive imagery by the same parent on March 17.
Police officers from the Sunshine Coast Child Protection and Investigation Unit are currently investigating the matter.
The material – which depicts pedophilia, bestiality and other hard-core pornography – was posted on Snapchat and possibly created using AI by a dozen 12 and 13-year-olds last year, along with covert videos of teachers and students in class that were posted on TikTok.
It was only taken down on Sunday following The Sunday Mail’s investigations.
On Monday several key staff and many students were absent from morning assembly and additional administration staff had been hired to deal with an avalanche of phone calls from parents demanding answers.
Parents are calling for a full and independent investigation by LEQ of why it took months for police to be informed.
Premier David Crisafulli has expressed his disgust at the slow response of schools and tech giants to address potentially illegal content being shared by students.
Lutheran Education Queensland declined to answer questions on the expulsions and suspension, however, on Monday afternoon, LEQ acting executive director Nick Verreynne said in a statement: “It is our policy not to comment on individual members of our community and out of respect for the privacy of those involved, we will not be discussing any disciplinary or other consequences.
“What we will say is that this is a serious matter and is currently the subject of a police investigation”.
The school has not responded to repeated questions by The Courier-Mail since Friday morning.
On Friday evening, shortly after 6pm, principal Anthony Dyer sent a letter to parents saying the college about “the sharing of the alleged material” and “the unauthorised manner in which it was obtained”.
“In the interests of transparency, I thought it important to share this news with you directly,” Mr Dyer wrote.
“There is also a possibility it may attract media attention, and I wanted you to hear it from me first.”
More Coverage
Originally published as Good Shepherd Lutheran College in Noosaville expels students in porn scandal
Exposed: How woman allegedly lured tourists into slave labour on Qld farms
A woman has been charged with trafficking tourists into “oppressive” slave labour conditions on Queensland farms, with some made to travel in the boot of a car and sleep in shipping containers.
Top-ranking public servant’s promotion blocked
A senior Queensland public servant has had her promotion blocked due to no fault of her own, while the panel that hired her has been stood down.