Ex-Neighbors star Madeleine West revealed how she alerted police to a ‘paedophile’ who had been speaking to hundreds of primary school-aged girls via social media.
The 43-year-old actress and writer said her alarm bells went off when she saw that a young girl she knew and a dozen of her friends were being followed on TikTok and other platforms by the same account that hadn’t uploaded any content. It prompted her to take a closer look.
“He followed 4,025 accounts… So I checked the first 200 and found they were all kids under nine,” she said News Corp.
West said she then went through the comments on the posts those girls had uploaded and found the posts made from the suspicious account — which left her in shock.
“These comments were along the lines of, ‘You have such a sexy body. Can I see you with your clothes off?’” And, most pertinently, “Please put your face in the video. Can I see a post of your face,” she said.
West said she first spoke to the parents of the group of girls in her neighborhood, who said they had no idea their children were using these platforms, so they closed their accounts.
West said she then took screenshots of the information she found and, with the permission of the girls’ parents, forwarded it to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) and the Office of the eSafety Commissioner.
“Within hours the federal police contacted me because this was a real pedophile,” she said.
Former Neighbours actress Madeleine West has revealed how her online sleuthing led her to discover a paedophile
West said the AFP told her they were investigating her tip.
The Melbourne-based Underbelly actor and author has become an advocate for child safety after revealing she was abused by a neighbour as a child.
Forty years later, she confronted her own abuser when she knocked on his door in July 2022. She was wearing a secret audio recording device that detectives had given her.
Peter Vincent White, now in his seventies, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his brutal abuse of seven young victims aged between four and 14.
The recording was crucial to the prosecution of White.
In the audio, West can be heard exchanging pleasantries with White and his deaf wife before confronting him about the abuse.
She was shocked when White said he could not remember committing any of the crimes. He then begged her forgiveness with four devastating words: “I am so sorry.”
West made her story public in January 2023 and has since served as a consultant and speaker for the cyber security organization Safe on Social and the abuse victims group Warriors Advocacy.
West has become an advocate for online child safety after disclosing her own abuse as a child
A campaign to block children’s access to social media to curb online dangers such as predatory behaviour and cyberbullying is gaining traction in Australian politics.
The current age limit for platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok is 13, but there has been much criticism that these age limits are not verified and can be circumvented.
Some state governments are calling for this age to use social media to be raised to 16.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has welcomed the efforts, and the federal opposition has pledged to introduce laws banning social media access for those under 16.
Many online sites currently rely on age restriction, where users enter their age themselves. This can easily fail.
Children under 13 can provide fake birth dates to create social media accounts, while teens can simply tap “yes” when asked to verify they are over 18.
To prevent children from accessing inappropriate and harmful online content, the federal government is already funding a trial of ‘age assurance’ technologies.
Self-reporting is one form of age assurance, but other methods are available, including more stringent age verification processes.
Examples of this include the provision of ‘hard identification documents’ and the emergence of biometric technology.
Daily Mail Australia has asked the Australian Federal Police for comment on Ms West’s revelations.