Porn sharing site targeting Aussie schoolgirls taken down

A WEBSITE targeting female students at more than 70 Australian schools has been taken down after an underage girl came forward.

THE website of an international pornography ring targeting female students at more than 70 Australian schools has been taken down thanks to the bravery of an underage girl who appeared on the sick forum.

She was just 15 when an explicit photo of her that appeared on the site was taken, and is still below the age of consent.

Acting Children’s e-Safety Commissioner Andree Wright today praised the girl as “brave”, saying that the office had contacted the site’s registrar over her case, and is aware the website has now been removed.

News.com.au exclusively revealed on Tuesday that more than 2000 non-consensual sexual images of schoolgirls and other women were traded by Australian members since the group began operating in December last year.

There was a national outcry over the vile porn-sharing site used by young men as well as teenage boys targeting their peers, which has now been replaced by a regular porn website.

The Australian Federal Police, state police and the Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner are conducting an ongoing investigation into the seedy forum.

The AFP had previously said they were powerless to shut down the website because it was hosted overseas.

“There’s a chain here,” said Ms Wright, adding that there had been no formal response from anyone involved with the website. “There’s a registrar, a database holder and whoever’s responsible for the content. Sometimes that has the effect of hiding the owner.”

Neither the registrar or database holder are based in Australia. The latter is thought to be US-based.

Tiahna Prosser was unaware she was a target on the site.

Since news.com.au broke the story about the sick website, young female victims have been approaching police and the Children eSafety Commissioner about its content, and other sexual images posted without their consent online and on social media.

Men have been using the porn sharing website to nominate specific high schools or regions from which they were phishing for graphic photos, along with the full names of girls they were “hunting”.

Once a girl’s name appeared on a list, other members could post identifying information on the intended victim, such as headshots, school, home address and phone number, along with directives like “Go get her boys!”

Any “wins” (a colloquial term referring to nude photos) of the nominated target were then uploaded or offered in exchange for a trade. Some targets were so sought after that “bounties” were offered for any user who can post a “win”.

In one case, a user offered to trade up to 300 nude images of other victims in exchange for a single pornographic photo of one girl he was tracking. Another user said he had been trying to unearth nude images of a particular victim for more than five years.

The disturbing revelations came as a shock to many teenage victims who did not know their images had appeared on the site.

The 18-year-old competitive bodybuilder said she was particularly disturbed that she had been specifically targeted by strangers.

Tiahna Prosser, 18, discovered three weeks ago she had been named as a hunted person on the explicit photo-sharing site. A naked photo of her taken when she was 16 by someone she had trusted was then posted online.

“It was like I had been sold, it’s just horrible especially when they want it of you specifically — that’s when it’s really disturbing,” the competitive bodybuilder told news.com.au.

Madeleine*, 20, told news.com.au of her horror at discovering graphic photos of herself online, where family members and employers could see them.

She was just 15 when she fell victim to a predatory, middle-aged man who promised her a modelling contract, before taking her to his home and eventually making her strip naked for photographs.

“It will never go away,” she said. “It’s disgusting and vile. What is wrong with people? Don’t they care about other people’s feelings?

“Stuff like this could push someone over the edge.”

The trauma may not be over for many of the teenage victims humiliated on the website.

Matthew Warren, deputy director of the Deakin University Centre for Cyber Security, told news.com.au the explicit photos could still reappear elsewhere.

“The issue with the internet is that information can easily be backed up and restored very quickly,” he said.

“People who have downloaded those pictures can do with them what they want.

“The fact it has been taken down is probably because of public pressure and national outrage at the underage pictures.

“The owners have realised they’re not just dealing with porn but with potential paedophilia charges. It may actually be self-awareness by the owners of the legal risk.

“The issue is whether it’s closed for good or resurfaces in a different format.”

If you have further information or would like to report concerns contact Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000 or the Child Protection Helpline on 132 111.

If you or someone you know has been impacted by sexual assault or exploitation support is available at 1800 RESPECT and Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800.

Help stop online child abuse — if you see something that’s not quite right, report it at esafety.gov.au/reportillegalcontent

If you have an experience you would like to share, email [e-mail].