Police arrest 16-year-old over fake student nudes spread at Melbourne school

A 16-year-old boy has been arrested after photos of female students at a Melbourne school were doctored into sexually-explicit pictures and spread online.

The 16-year-old boy was questioned and released pending further inquiries.

Police have arrested a 16-year-old boy believed to be involved in the circulation of sexually explicit, AI-generated photos featuring the faces of at least 10 female students from a northwestern suburbs high school.

A search warrant in the Hume area was executed on Friday by Fawkner sexual offence and child abuse investigation team detectives, before the teenager was arrested.

He was then interviewed by detectives, but has since been released pending further inquiries, a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.

The arrest comes after Detective Sergeant Simon Garner urged two year 11 students to hand themselves in to police on Friday afternoon.

The boys were suspended from the school after formal photos containing the faces of “a number” of female students were doctored into what was described as vulgar, sexually-explicit photos which were then shared online.

The school alerted Victoria Police to the incident on Thursday afternoon, before informing parents about it in a lengthy email.

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

The Victoria Police spokeswoman said the investigation into the incident “remains ongoing”.

“Police are currently providing support to identified victims, their families, and the school,” she said.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report at crimestoppers.com.au.