Good Shepherd Lutheran College gripped by porn scandal

Parents have demanded a full and independent investigation by a church school’s governing body over a social media porn scandal.

A mother at the school has blown the whistle on the scandal. Picture: Patrick Woods

Furious parents of a Queensland Christian school embroiled in a pornographic social media scandal have demanded a full and independent investigation by its governing body into why it took months to report the potentially illegal content to police.

More parents have come out against Good Shepherd Lutheran College in Noosaville following an exclusive investigation by The Sunday Mail.

It came as Premier David Crisafulli hammered home his disgust at the slow response of schools and tech giants to address potentially illegal content being shared by students.

A parent notified the prep to year 12 college of the “disgusting and disturbing” nude imagery on TikTok and Snapchat – posted and possibly created by a dozen 12 and 13 year olds – on February 27.

However, mandatory reporting to police did not occur until May 16 and was done by the school’s governing body, Lutheran Education Queensland, email records show.

The content – which depicts pedophilia, bestiality and other hard-core pornography as well as covert videos of teachers in class – had been online since late 2024 but was only removed on Sunday.

Parents expressed their outrage at the handling of the matter on a Good Shepherd social media page on the weekend.

Good Shepherd Lutheran College at Noosaville

“This is not just a scandal. It is a betrayal of trust, of responsibility, and most damningly, of the Christian mission the school claims to uphold: ‘To offer a Christian education in a caring environment’,” one parent said.

“Lutheran Education Queensland must act. A full and independent investigation is warranted... This failure... is not something that can be quietly managed away.

“Where was the care? Where was the moral compass?”

The parents also said it was not enough to claim Christian identity while remaining silent when vulnerable children were being harmed.

“For months, one parent raised the alarm. They emailed. They pleaded. They followed every proper channel in good faith,” they said.

“The response from the school was slow... and defensive.

“In that time, students were exposed to explicit content, ridiculed and bullied by their peers, and abandoned by those charged with protecting them.”

Mr Crisafulli reiterated his condemnation of the situation.

Asked whether he would consider appointing a Minister for Men to tackle toxic masculinity, he said: “I haven’t turned my attention to that, but I have turned my attention to your story.

Premier David Crisafulli. Picture: Tertius Pickard/NCA NewsWire

“The thought that somehow we can live in a society where the big tech giants can allow things like that on their platform and there’s no accountability to remove them, there’s no swift action, and yet they can continue to cream millions from people on things like advertising and racking up users, I find that sickening, and I think it needs to be called out,” he said.

“Likewise, we all have a duty. If something like that is there, we have to act, and police take that seriously.

“It’s not, it’s not a joke. It is serious. It’s really serious, it’s a crime. And we don’t, we have a zero tolerance approach to crime in all its forms, whether it’s on a street or in a computer.

“And I’m asking people, when they see that kind of behaviour, to go to the authorities. Mostly, I’m asking big tech to do their part as well.”

Good Shepherd Lutheran College and Lutheran Education Queensland have been contacted for comment.

LEQ acting executive director Nick Verreynne previously said in a statement: “Following the matter being reported to the police by Lutheran Education Queensland, the matter is now the subject of a police investigation, and both the college and Lutheran Education Queensland are co-operating fully with authorities.

“As the matter is under police investigation, we are unable to comment further at this time.”

Originally published as Good Shepherd Lutheran College gripped by porn scandal