A man pretending to be pop singer Justin Bieber has been charged with more than 900 child-sex crimes, police in Queensland, Australia, said Thursday.
According to police, a 42-year-old man (NOT pictured above), who had previously been charged with a number of child-sex crimes, has been slapped with an additional 931 charges.
The new charges include rape, indecent treatment of children, making child exploitation material, using a carriage service to procure person under 16, and using a carriage service for child pornography material.
The man, who was not identified by police, had previously been charged with possessing child exploitation material and using a carriage service to groom persons under 16. A thorough search of the man’s computer resulted in the additional charges.
The man allegedly posed as Bieber — who is only 23 and Canadian — and used platforms including Facebook and Skype to reach out to his victims.
The alleged offenses stretch back to at least 2007, police said.
“This investigation demonstrates both the vulnerability of children that are utilizing social media and communication applications and the global reach and skill that child sex offenders have to groom and seduce victims,” Detective Inspector Jon Rouse said. “The fact that so many children could believe that they were communicating with this particular celebrity highlights the need for a serious rethink about the way that we as a society educate our children about online safety.”
Rouse went on to call the breadth of alleged offenses “frankly horrendous.”
6 Most Outlandish Online Petitions, From Jesse Williams to Piers Morgan (Photos)
After a Change.org petition to fire Jesse Williams from "Grey's Anatomy" went viral shortly following the actor's inspiring speech BET Awards speech last month, TheWrap takes a look at five other ridiculous online petitions.
Jesse Williams gave an incredibly moving acceptance speech at the 2016 BET Awards that received a lot of praise. The actor tackled police brutality with black men and the current racial climate of the U.S. Apparently, it wasn't too popular with some folks calling out the "Grey's Anatomy" actor for "hate speech" and hashtagging #alllivesmatter. The petition was only 315 people short of reaching its goal of 7,500 signatures at the time of this post.
It looks like not everyone is part of the Beyhive as disgruntled non-fans are petitioning to have Beyoncé and Jay Z arrested for wiring money to bail out Ferguson protesters. And of course, let's not forget her "offensive" Super Bowl halftime show.
Some people are apparently just getting tired of hearing the antiquated "Star Spangled Banner," and thought it would be appropriate to change the national anthem to R. Kelly's "Ignition (Remix)."
A group of non-Beliebers recently wanted to deport Justin Bieber and have his green card revoked. "He is not only threatening the safety of our people but he is also a terrible influence on our nation's youth," the campaign stated. The White House actually responded, but did not decide to take any action on the Canadian singer's immigration status.
U.S. citizens appear to be big on deportations, a petition was created to deport Piers Morgan for engaging in a "hostile attack" of the Second Amendment.
Some 49,890 people petitioned the White House to have President Obama impeached for disrespecting the Constitution and forcing everyone to get healthcare. The White House responded with a letter titled "The Short Answer is No, But Keep Reading."
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Before the Change.org campaign to have the “Grey’s Anatomy” star fired, there were appeals to deport Justin Bieber, arrest Beyonce and even change the national anthem
After a Change.org petition to fire Jesse Williams from "Grey's Anatomy" went viral shortly following the actor's inspiring speech BET Awards speech last month, TheWrap takes a look at five other ridiculous online petitions.
