Gladstone Park Secondary College: Two students suspended after sharing explicit, deepfake AI images of peers

Police are investigating a distressing deepfake image scandal at a Melbourne school in which sexually explicit, AI-generated images of female students were shared online.

An unknown number of formal photos of students from Gladstone Park Secondary College were edited and shared by Year 11 students online and in group chats.

Two Year 11 students have been suspended over the incident, but police say more could be involved.

In a statement to parents on Friday, school principal Veronica Hoy sought to ease concerns, saying “appropriate disciplinary action has been taken” after the incident, which she said was “misogynistic and disrespectful”.

“We know these images will be concerning or distressing for some of our students,” Ms Hoy said.

“Please be reassured the health and wellbeing of our students is our highest priority and the school will make every effort to support students who are distressed.”

Police were made aware of the incident on Thursday and are still trying to determine how many victims were impacted.

In an update on Friday, Detective Sergeant Simon Garner from the Fawkner Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team (SOCIT) said as many as 60 students could be impacted by the incident.

“I find it quite disturbing, quite despicable,” Det Sgt Garner said.

“Whether they be children, adults, anybody. No one likes to have their images taken and manipulated in such a way like this.”

“First and foremost I want to make sure that the girls and the students that are involved in this are being taken care of,” he added.

“We want to make sure they’re supported, their families are supported and all the referral services have been put in place to help support them through a very difficult time.”

He encouraged anyone who has been impacted by the images and who has not yet spoken to police to come forward.

Det Sgt Garner said it was difficult to establish where the images had been disseminated to and urged the public and others who has seen or received these images to disclose “what platforms they’re being used on”.

He also appealed to those responsible for creating or distributing the images to come forward, and said the school has provided police with a list of names of people they believe are involved.

“There is always a likelihood that these people don’t really have an idea of the kind of offences they’re actually committing,” he said.

“We’re talking about images of production, possession and distributing of child exploitation material. ... We take it very seriously.”

Although the images are AI-generated, they are considered child abuse material, which means the person who created the content and others who shared or received it could face serious consequences.

In June 2024, the federal parliament introduced new laws making it a criminal offence to share a non-consensual, digitally created sexually explicit material, overwhelmingly targeting women and girls. Anyone found to have shared these kinds of images faces up to six years in jail. Those found to have created the images could face seven years in jail.

Det Sgt Garner said reports of these deepfake incidents happen “quite often”.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan reacted to the “appalling” incident on Friday, saying girls and women “deserve to feel safe and respected in the classroom, in any room, in any community across our state”.

“And this behaviour breaches that trust, breaches that respect, and it holds not just women and girls back, but it holds boys and men back too,” Ms Allan said.

“It’s why it’s so important that the programs we’ve got rolled out across our schools … dealing with this toxic culture.”

Victoria’s Department of Education also condemned the “misogynistic and disrespectful behaviour” and said it is working with the school to support the students impacted.

“Alongside parents, carers and the wider community, schools play a critical role in stamping out disrespectful behaviour.”

The investigation into the incident remains ongoing.