A Justin Bieber impersonator has been arrested and charged with over 900 child sex offences.
Police in Melbourne, Australia say they have arrested a man with a history of sexual offences for pretending to be the Sorry singer online to gain indecent images of children.
Police say someone used online platforms like Facebook and Skype to communicate with his victims.
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Police have charged Gordon Douglas Chalmers, a 42-year-old law professor, with 931 sex offences including: possession of child exploitation material, using a carriage service to groom under-16s and indecent treatment of children.
“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,” Det. Insp. Jon Rouse of the Task Force Argos, which investigates sex crimes, said.
“The breadth of offenses committed in this instance are frankly horrendous and I want to recognise the efforts and commitment of the investigative team at Taskforce Argos to keeping children safe.”
The crimes date back to at least 2007 and there are more than 150 alleged victims around the world.
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He was already facing charges from November on a number of child sex offences, according to ABC News.
Chalmers has yet to enter pleas. It is not clear how long he could spend in prison if convicted.
Australian police have urged Bieber fans and their parents to stay alert on the internet.
This isn’t the first person who has been accused of sexual offences against minors while trying to impersonate Bieber.
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Police say in 2014 a man contacted a nine-year-old girl who was viewing Bieber’s Instagram page.
He allegedly messaged the child and said he knew the Canadian pop star personally, promising to arrange a text meeting between the young fan and Bieber.
He was then accused of impersonating Bieber, demanding the girl send nude photos of herself and threatening to hurt her if she refused. The girl reportedly sent nude selfies and videos.
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Bieber himself is in the middle of the Australian leg of his world tour.
The star recently returned to Instagram and said that he is “working on something special” for his fans.
His tour moves on to New Zealand on March 18.
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