Police probe Facebook abuse posted on tribute pages for slain schoolboy Elliot Fletcher

POLICE have vowed to hunt down and charge whoever posted child pornography on online tribute pages for slain schoolboy Elliot Fletcher.

Queensland's top police officers said they were sickened by the postings on Facebook, which included images of child sexual abuse, bestiality and torture.

The images caused deep distress to 12-year-old Elliot's family, already struggling to cope with his stabbing death at St Patrick's College in Brisbane on Monday.

The offensive material, posted in the hours after the boy's death, was removed from Facebook after police took action overnight.

Officers say they'll do everything possible to trace and prosecute the culprit, or culprits, who could face 10 years in jail in Australia for posting child pornography online.

If it's determined the material was posted overseas, authorities in Australia will work with that country to ensure those responsible are caught.
"It's some of the most disgusting and unacceptable behaviour that you can ever imagine,'' Queensland Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson told reporters in Brisbane today.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Mike Condon praised Facebook's Australian representatives, saying they acted quickly to help get the material removed.

"The material on the site is classed as child exploitation material,'' he said.

"It's some of the most disgusting material I've seen in a lot of years.

"Offences relating to that sort of material carry a 10-year sentence from the state perspective, and 10 years from the Commonwealth perspective.''

Janine Edwards, whose son is in grade 12 at St Patrick's, said she was sickened by the offensive material posted online.

"There was an awful lot of things on Facebook last night. There's just so many sick people that write such disgusting things,'' Ms Edwards said, as she attended a mass for Elliot at the school.

Another Brisbane mother told ABC Radio she and her 12-year-old son were posting their respects when a user pretending to be the dead boy said it was all a hoax.

"The one that upset me the most was a Facebook user by the name of the boy who died, with a photo of his face that's been in media, popped up saying, 'Hi, I was just joking,'" the woman said.

"It really shocked me.''

AAP

My critique~
It's really too convenient to post something, our thoughts, rumours, incidents onto facebook. And it will be trasnferrend and known to each other around the world. It's really unsafe and having a certain risks there. So, I think that stricter regulations should be imposed to prevent such exploitation which will bring harm and side effects onto others.