Known as “the cyber cop”, Ms McLean said too many parents had their “heads in the sand” and wrongly believed their children would never be involved in sending or receiving sexual photos.

“It’s incumbent on adults to make the Internet a safer place for kids,” Ms McLean said. “Where were the parents when the boys were posting this and using this vile language?

“Where were the parents when the girls took the photos and trusted their boyfriends?

 “This is the world these kids are growing up in and you need to be on the front foot, not on the back foot.

“You need to sit down with kids and say ‘This is happening in our area, possibly to kids that you know and we need to talk about it. Have you heard of any kids at your school being affected? What would you do? Have you been asked for photos?’

“It’s got to be an ongoing conversation about how to treat others and how to use technology, as well as respect for themselves and responsible use of the Internet, from as soon as the child has access online or a device in their hands.

“They’ve also got to know that no matter what happens, they can come and talk to you about what they’ve done.”

Ms McLean said she started talking to students as young as year three about inappropriate images, using terminology including ‘yes photos’ and ‘no photos’.

She said many underage teens – who she described as impulsive and growing up in an increasingly sexualised society – did not understand they could be charged with creating child pornography if they took an intimate photo of themselves. Sending the photo to someone, she said, was transmitting child porn and receiving it was possession.

“But it’s not the girls fault these images ended up on the site, it’s the fault of the person who betrayed their trust, and set out to harass, annoy and stalk these girls,” she said. “You never blame the victim.” 

Ms McLean said the website did not exist in isolation, explaining that there were several other similar pages that remained undetected.

“It’s not unusual – it’s sad, but it’s the world we live in,” she said.

Ms McLean said if the website shut “just because it became too hot in the kitchen”, the photos may resurface.

“Every person that views that page could have taken copies and start their own website,” she said. “Regardless of whether the site has gone, the pictures aren’t gone, they’re still out there.”

The Herald, Newcastle