BBC students dealt with under Youth Justice Act over Snapchat sex scandal

Parents have engaged powerful barristers as a top secret police taskforce investigates a child porn scandal at the prestigious Brisbane Boys’ College.

Brisbane Boys College in Toowong. Picture: Tara Croser

Several students from the prestigious Brisbane Boys’ College have been dealt with under the Youth Justice Act as police continue to investigate a social media scandal involving alleged child pornography.

The Courier-Mail understands a top-secret task-force has been set up, with detectives from Indooroopilly Station now working with detectives based in Brisbane City. It can also be revealed parents of the boys involved have engaged barristers to represent their sons.

Brisbane Boys’ College has declined to comment on whether students had been expelled over the Snapchat fiasco, which also allegedly included graphic images of a dead person.

Queensland Police Service would not confirm if any children had been charged with an offence but said investigations were ongoing.

“A number of students have been dealt with under the provisions of the Youth Justice Act as a result of inappropriate images being shared on an online platform,” the spokesperson said.

The Toowong school, which is governed by the Presbyterian and Methodist Schools’ Association, was allegedly made aware of the incident on May 16 and contacted police on May 22.

The Snapchat group is understood to have included up to 40 students although it is unknown how many times the material was shared or viewed by other children, including from other schools.

A BBC spokesperson told The Courier-Mail: “In line with college policy, we do not comment on the outcomes of individual student disciplinary matters.

The BBC Snapchat group is believed to have included up to 40 students. File picture: Facebook

“This approach ensures the privacy and wellbeing of all students is respected and maintained.”

Another social media scandal has erupted at Good Shepherd Lutheran College in Noosaville, where Year 7 and 8 students posted pornographic and other potentially illegal content on Snapchat.

The students also took covert videos of teachers and students in class and posted them to TikTok.

The material was not reported to police until almost three months after Good Shepherd was made aware of it by a parent on February 27.

A teenage boy has since been charged with one count of use of carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence.

Generally speaking, when a child is dealt with under the Youth Justice Act, the offence is included in the child’s criminal history and can be taken into consideration for future sentencing or bail applications.

Courts can consider an adult’s juvenile criminal history when sentencing as an adult if it has been less than five years from when a matter became part of the juvenile criminal history.

However, should a child be dealt with by the Youth Justice Act – as distinct from under it – then there is no conviction recorded as the matter didn’t go to court, but it will still show on the juvenile’s criminal history.

Originally published as BBC students dealt with under Youth Justice Act over Snapchat sex scandal