Indecent Photos Of 400 Australian Women Exposed In US Website; SA Police Request Access Block

Police in South Australia are investigating a case involving illicit photos of hundreds of women reportedly used on a U.S. website without their permission. Several Australian women whose images were distributed said the photos may have been taken from Facebook or shared by their ex-partners.

After the illicit images of Australian women were shared on April on a message board site, victims had warned those in the thread that the photos were shared without consent. Other commenters believe some photos may be considered child pornography since they were taken when the subject was under the legal age, reports Mashable.

Due to the nature of the photos, Mashable Australia has decided not to name the website involved. The original person who posted on the thread said most of the images were not taken personally but they have been saved and archived for years. The website is reportedly similar to 4chan, which became popular for posting nude photos of celebrities.

A spokesperson for the South Australian police has confirmed that they are investigating the matter. It is a crime for anyone to transmit or own naked photos of a person under the age of 17. The penalty for the crime is up to 10 years in prison.

The website had posted a notice in response to calls to remove the photos within the week. According to the notice, the images of the victims may likely never be able to scrub the images completely off the Internet. The site administrator also wrote that the website was hosted in the U.S. and therefore out of reach of Australian law enforcement.

In 2013, a change to the South Australian law was passed which prohibits the distribution of illicit images or videos without the consent of the subject even if he or she is above the age of 18. Detective Senior Sergeant Barry Blundell of the South Australian police said he became of aware of the website only days ago. About 30 reports were submitted to the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network and Crime Stoppers from people or family members who saw the illicit photos on the site.

The images of Amy Cornes, the daughter of South Australian football hero Graham, were among the photos that were found on the U.S. website. The 21-year-old said she will not allow the “pathetic people” behind the website. Cornes posted a photo of her in the a shower on her Facebook page as an act of defiance, reports the Daily Telegraph.

“I’m not happy about them being on the internet. But it’s done now,” she said about the photos, which she claimed were taken as a joke by her friends. The South Australian police will be requesting the help of federal authorities to block access to the site.

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