St Francis of Assisi College in Renmark issues warning over students sharing images which could be used to ‘exploit’ teens

A “large” group of year 8 students at a SA religious school have been caught sharing photos that “may be used to extort or exploit a young person”.

Students at a Riverland school have been caught sharing images in a social media group chat which “may be used to extort or exploit a young person”, The Advertiser can reveal.

A letter sent by staff at St Francis of Assisi College, in Renmark, warned parents about the use of the “large” Snapchat group by year 8 students.

It also noted there were “likely other chat groups via other social media platforms” where students may be sharing similar content.

It follows a spate of cases in South Australia and interstate in which teens have created and shared fake images of classmates or teachers, generated using artificial intelligence.

St Francis of Assisi College principal Nathan Hayes confirmed a letter was sent to parents of year 8 students. Picture: Dean Martin

St Francis of Assisi College principal Nathan Hayes confirmed to The Advertiser that a letter was sent to parents in the first week of Term 1 “as part of our proactive approach to providing information about appropriate use of social media”.

“We are committed to supporting our young people as they learn to navigate the digital world safely and provide students with ongoing social media education,” he said.

“Our highest priority is the pastoral care and wellbeing of our school community.”

In a separate incident, The Advertiser understands concerns have also been raised about a teacher at the college taking photos of children at a school event in May and posting them to their private Facebook account.

The Advertiser has seen a screenshot of the teacher’s post, which features children in the college uniform with emoji icons covering the middle of their faces.

Mr Hayes did not respond to specific questions about the teacher but said staff “are frequently updated and supported to ensure their obligations around social media use are maintained”.

In the letter to parents about the Snapchat group, seen by The Advertiser, college staff say they were “made aware that some of the images being shared through this Snapchat group could be classified as inappropriate and may be used to extort or exploit a young person”.

“Please speak with your child if they are active on Snapchat and other social media applications and, if they are part of large group chats, our advice is you instruct your child to exit these groups.”

Latest eSafety Commissioner figures reveal thousands of children have reported being the victim of image-based abuse, involving real or fake pictures, in recent years.

Most schools in SA have banned mobile phones from classrooms and, from December, Australians aged under 16 will be prevented from using social media.

For support visit esafety.gov.au or phone 1800 RESPECT.

Originally published as St Francis of Assisi College in Renmark issues warning over students sharing images which could be used to ‘exploit’ teens