Elite school student under investigation by police

A MALE student at one of Melbourne’s most esteemed private schools is under investigation by sex crimes police for distributing “inappropriate images”.

St Michael’s Grammar alerted parents about the police investigation in an email.

A MALE student at one of Melbourne’s most esteemed private schools is under investigation by sex crimes police for distributing “inappropriate images”.

The 16-year-old reportedly spread explicit pictures of young girls, with St Michael’s Grammar alerting parents to the police probe yesterday.

Police confirmed detectives from the Moorabbin Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team had interviewed the boy.

Spokeswoman Anthoula Moutis said police had received a report of “inappropriate images being distributed by students in St Kilda East”.

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The scandal is the latest involving private school boys in Melbourne objectifying young girls on social media.

School head Simon Gipson said in an email to parents that a fellow student first raised the alarm and staff immediately reported the matter to police.

Mr Gipson offered parents support from the school psychologist in discussing the issue. He said the school was committed to supporting student welfare and “we will continue to protect all members of our school community from anti-social behaviour”.

“As such, if police investigations confirm that any student has breached our behavioural expectations, we apply the most severe consequences,” he wrote in the email.

The school refused to confirm whether the student had been suspended from the St Kilda school, where annual fees cost as much as $29,000 for year 12.

It comes after Brighton Grammar last month booted out two students and disciplined others after an Instagram page was set up to “slut shame” girls as young as 11.

And the Herald Sun revealed on Saturday that year 12 Melbourne Grammar students rated their formal dates out of 10 and made lewd pick-up lines in a Facebook video.

A survey by the Association of Heads of Independent Schools Australia found that 75 per cent of schools had intervened in cases of sexting among students in the past three years.

Pornography education expert Maree Crabbe said younger exposure to porn was one of the factors shaping disrespectful attitudes to women.

“It forms part of a boarder culture that says women don’t deserve to be treated with respect,” Ms Crabbe said.