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.”