Fears have emerged that the mass leak of nude images allegedly featuring more than 45 current and former AFL stars was likely to have been published by organised criminals in a ‘sextortion’ attempt.
A Google drive file claiming to contain images of stars past and present was shared online showing screenshots, photos and videos claiming to feature AFL players including Brownlow Medal winners.
Police sources have told Daily Mail Australia the data dump is likely to be the end result of a massive ‘sextortion’ attempt by cunning criminals preying upon oblivious footballers.
Police believe AFL players are likely to have been targeted by criminals who use young women to lure them into sending them intimate images
Geelong Cats Hall of Fame member Jimmy Bartel (pictured with girlfriend Amelia Shepperd) has lashed out at the ‘disgusting’ person or persons who leaked the images. Daily Mail Australia does not insinuate that he was included in the illegal data dump
A Google drive (pictured, with players’ names obscured) has been widely circulated. It purportedly contains nude photos of 45 past and present footy stars
‘There’s a good earn in it if they can get $5,000 to $10,000 from a young bloke. There are people out there tricking blokes into sending this type of stuff all the time,’ a police source said.
‘The problem is that paying won’t save you. They just come back and ask for more.’
The published link listed each player’s name, which was accompanied by a folder of explicit, graphic photos and even videos allegedly featuring them.
Those images had vanished by Wednesday night after news of its existence came to light in the media.
Daily Mail Australia has chosen not to identify any of the men caught up in the illicit leak.
The file appears to have been uploaded in July last year by somebody using the name ‘Suesomebodiesbusiness’.
An email sent by Daily Mail Australia to an address linked to the uploaded files did not get a response.
A Victoria Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday it had not been contacted by anyone in relation to the photo dump.
‘Victoria Police is aware of explicit images being circulated online of athletes. No reports have been received by Victoria Police at this stage,’ the spokesperson said.
It is a different story across the border in South Australia, where it is understood a complaint was made by Adelaide Crows officials.
South Australia Police confirmed it was looking into the matter, but refused to provide further details on the investigation.
‘South Australia Police are aware of interstate reports of intimate images of athletes being shared online,’ a spokesperson said on Thursday.
‘SAPOL will work with the AFL Integrity Unit and investigate any matters that are reported to SA Police.’
In a statement, the AFL said it has no information about why the images have been circulated illegally (league CEO Gillon McLachlan, pictured)
Sydney Swans star Chad Warner had naked images of him posted online a year ago. He was not among those featured in the illegal data dump
Former veteran Victoria Police detective and Cybersafety Solutions chief Susan McLean told Daily Mail Australia ‘sextortion’ has become a worldwide problem.
‘Sextortion is a huge issue and the primary targets are males,’ she said.
‘There are plenty of people there that get illicit nude photos from people to blackmail them, but I don’t know if that’s the case here … One of the fastest-growing crime types in the world is sextortion.’
Ms McLean said the latest AFL photo dump was fairly unique due to the number of images published.
‘It is unusual, but there’s discussion around the fact they’re not all real, which I don’t know because I haven’t seen them,’ she said.
Ms McLean said players would need to personally come forward with official complaints to get police to act.
‘Until such time as the police launch an investigation because a player makes a formal complaint, nothing is going to be done,’ she said.
‘Police can’t start an investigation based off a media report. So if the players want to get to the bottom of who is behind this they need to go and make a complaint. If they don’t this won’t be investigated, there will be no deterrent and no-one will be called to account.’
Ms McLean emphasised that whatever the outcome, the players involved were not to blame.
Security expert and Cybersafety Solutions chief Susan McLean (pictured) said ‘sextortion’ is rampant across the globe
‘The players haven’t committed a crime. If they have chosen to share an image as a consenting adult they have every right to choose – whether it’s a good choice that’s an entirely different debate, but the only people at fault here are the people who put the Google Drive document together and those that are peddlin it,’ she said.
It is not the first time a large photo dump of nude photos supposedly of AFL players has appeared online.
In July last year, about the same time the ‘Sue Somebody’ files were first uploaded, images of Sydney Swans star Chad Warner were published without his consent.
Multiple images of the young gun showed him naked and performing sexual acts.
In 2018, South Australian woman Georgia May Gibson, then aged 21, had her charges dropped after she was accused of filming and leaking a raunchy video of AFL great Dane Swan.
The decision marked the end of a long ordeal for Gibson, who was charged after footage surfaced online allegedly showing the former Collingwood star.
In Victoria, it is illegal to share an intimate or sexual image of a person if they did not agree to it.
A police source agreed it was unusual for such a large number of victims to be targeted all at once.
‘You’ve got 45-odd images dropped in one hit here. It has all the signs of an organised job, probably using multiple girls. Then the threats and pressure is applied,’ the source said.
An explicit video of AFL great Dane Swan (pictured) was shared by a woman in 2018. Georgia May Gibson was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing
Many of the published images appear to have been sent by those involved via direct messaging services such as SnapChat and WhatsApp.
Geelong Hall of Fame great Jimmy Bartel lashed out at the ‘disgusting’ person or persons behind the leak.
‘It’s gross – a majority of images are fake, made up, staged,’ he said on radio station 3AW on Thursday.
‘It’s someone grubby who will hopefully get caught. This is a criminal matter now.’
The AFL Players’ Association labelled the sharing of the images an ‘appalling and disgusting act’.
‘The AFL Players’ Association is aware of the AFL investigating a collection of explicit images that have been distributed of past and present players without their consent,’ chief executive Paul Marsh said in a statement on Wednesday night.
‘While it is important to note that some of the images may not be legitimate, this is an appalling and disgusting act and a likely unlawful breach of privacy that is unacceptable.
‘We ask the public to treat this matter seriously by not seeking out or sharing any of these photos and respecting the rights and privacy of those impacted.
‘We will support our impacted members through our legal and wellbeing services. This is now a police matter, and we will continue to assist as necessary.’
The AFL’s Integrity Unit, alongside the eSafety Commissioner, worked overnight to remove the images from the internet.
According to those who have seen them, some allegedly contain images of married and attached players with time stamps indicating they were still with their partners when the images were taken.
‘I think they’re from DMs. No amount of social media awareness training cures stupid,’ one pundit from footy forum BigFooty.com suggested.
‘Can also be phone hacks,’ another online sleuth mused. ‘Had my phone hacked a couple of months ago. Was then messaged with photos saying pay or they get shared.’
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting wrongdoing on the part of the AFL players, nor have we verified the authenticity of any of the images.
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