Dendy Park crime: Teen sexually assaulted at Brighton party

A teenage girl has been sexually assaulted at a party in Brighton after gatecrashers used social media to track revellers.

Gangs are allegedly using Snapchat’s geolocating maps feature to target teen gatherings in “wealthy” Melbourne suburbs.

A young girl was sexually assaulted at a party in a Brighton park after a group of males crashed the late night teen gathering.

It is believed the group used a “frightening” Snapchat tool to find party locations in “wealthy” suburbs of Melbourne.

The Leader has been told an “out of area gang” turned up to the gathering at Dendy Park last month after the Snap Maps feature revealed a “hotspot” of teens posting at the site.

A 16-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by at least one member of the group.

Snap Maps lets users track each other’s movements in real time by plotting posts on a map so friends and other Snapchatters can see where they are and what they’re doing.

If there is a major event that lots of people are posting about on Snapchat, a patch of colour will appear on the map to show a hotspot.

One frightened parent told the Leader they were “shocked something like this could happen here”.

“This is such a safe area it’s shocking to think this has happened.

“It’s frightening that this group were able to track kids like that.”

The Leader understands teens meet at parks or beaches in Bayside most weekends.

Another parent said there was a large police presence at the park on Sunday morning, with officers combing bushes near where the alleged incident occurred.

He said cops wouldn’t tell him what they were doing there but one said: “you don’t want your kids coming here at night, mate”.

The alleged incident has also spurred St Leonard’s College principal Stuart Davis to warn parents about the need to keep children safe, “even here in Bayside”.

In an email to parents two days after the incident, seen by the Leader, Mr Davis urged parents to “ensure your children are cautious about entering parklands and other potentially dangerous areas unaccompanied, especially in the early evening and at night”.

“Whilst we are fortunate to live in a remarkably safe environment, it is important that we are ever mindful of the need for good decision-making and risk minimisation,” he said.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman confirmed cops were investigating a sexual assault at Dendy Park last month.

“As the investigation is ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage,” she said.

She said police would “explore all avenues of inquiry” in relation to the incident, including if the offenders had used Snap Maps to target the teen gathering.

Meanwhile, Snap Maps is also believed to have been used to track teens to a gathering at Rathmines Reserve in Hawthorn last year where a gang of up to 15 offenders stripped schoolchildren of their clothes, phones and wallets and assaulted multiple victims.

One 16-year-old boy was taken to hospital after suffering injuries to his head and upper body during the October 31 attack.

Robberies were also reported that weekend at nearby Central Gardens and Glenferrie Oval.

When Snap Maps was unveiled in 2017, it prompted warnings from child cyber safety groups to ensure kids were told to only share their location with people they know, not just their online ‘friends’ or followers.

Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said parents and carers should have “an open discussion” with their children about location-based services such as Snap Maps and help them make an informed decision about whether or not to turn on the feature.

“Ultimately, the greatest help we can offer our children is to remain engaged with their online lives — know the apps and services they’re using and help them set up their accounts and devices so (location-based services) can be disabled or used safely,” she said.