Good Shepherd Lutheran College porn scandal: Year 8 kids involved still using social media in class

Students – including some involved in a recent porn scandal – are still using social media on their phones in class at a Sunshine Coast school, as a whistleblower mum demands a ‘full and transparent’ investigation by the Church.

The whistleblower mum has written to the church, asking it to investigate why the school did not report the potentially illegal online material to police. Picture: Patrick Woods.

The parent who lifted the lid on a pornographic social media scandal at Good Shepherd Lutheran College is demanding a “full and transparent” investigation into it by the Church.

The whistleblower mum has written to Bishop Mark Vainikka, requesting the Lutheran Church of Australia Queensland District investigate why the school did not report the potentially illegal online material to police – and why it took the school’s governing body several months to do so.

The Courier-Mail can also reveal many students – including the Year 8s involved in the scandal – are still using social media on their phones in class, contravening school policy.

A Noosa Heads boy has been charged with one count of use of carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence, and remains at the Noosaville college.

Horrific images of pedophilia and bestiality were shared on Snapchat, and humiliating covert videos of teachers taken by students in class were posted on TikTok, but the material was only taken down after this newspaper broke the story on June 8.

On Thursday, the parent wrote to Bishop Vainikka, calling for the Church to investigate five senior figures at the school and Lutheran Education Queensland over the handling of the matter.

Email and text records show the school was notified about the material on February 27 and Lutheran Education Queensland on February 28.

On March 17, the parent emailed the five people a Dropbox link of the offensive imagery and received confirmation of its receipt.

The school was notified about the disturbing social media content by a concerned parent.

However, it took until May 16, two days after the frustrated parent again emailed Lutheran Education Queensland, for mandatory police reporting to occur.

Principal Anthony Dyer has consistently declined to comment on the school’s management of the issue.

He also has not answered if any steps have been taken to ensure the wellbeing of teachers, and why a student charged with a criminal offence has not been expelled.

Fallout from the scandal has been so significant that on June 9 the school sensationally stopped parents posting on year-level Facebook pages and deleted comments that criticised it.

As The Courier-Mail also has confirmed, attendance at that morning’s assembly was down and extra personnel were answering a barrage of phone calls from concerned parents. The principal has denied both in an email to parents.

Several families have sought alternative education, including from other Sunshine Coast private schools, amid wider complaints of a “toxic bullying culture” at the Prep to Year 12 college. The principal has denied a bullying culture exists.

TikTok has since banned the account of a child at the centre of the covert teacher videos however that child remains active on social media in class, records show.

Sister school Grace Lutheran College Rothwell is also embroiled in a social media scandal, involving deepfake nudes, and a student has been charged with one count each of possessing child exploitation material, distributing child exploitation material. He has not been expelled.

The Lutheran Church, LEQ and Mr Dyer have been contacted for comment.

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Originally published as Good Shepherd Lutheran College porn scandal: Year 8 kids involved still using social media in class