Police are warning people of the dangers of social media, after unsolicited explicit images were sent to girls in the Maitland area via Snapchat.
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Police spoke to a 15-year-old male student from a Maitland school after receiving reports that explicit images were sent to numerous girls on Friday.
Maitland police officer in charge Chief Inspector Glenn Blain said sending these sorts of images via text or social media was not only inappropriate, but an offence.
“It’s especially bad when kids are doing it,” he said.
“We haven’t seen an increase, but it is a regular occurrence.”
Snapchat works by users sending images to one another which disappear after a matter of seconds.
However Inspector Blain warned people that other users can still save those images.
He encouraged parents to monitor their children’s use of social media and urged victims who received these kinds of photos to report them to a parent, guardian or teacher.