Justin Bieber impostor meted child sex charges in Australia

SYDNEY | A man posing online as pop superstar Justin Bieber was Thursday charged with more than 900 child sex offences in Australia after enticing young fans to send him explicit images, police said.

The 42-year-old used online platforms including Facebook and Skype to impersonate the chart-topping Canadian singer, with his alleged offenses dating back to 2007.

“Detectives had been investigating a man who allegedly posed as Justin online in order to solicit explicit images from young children,” Queensland state police said in a statement.

“As part of the investigation, a 42-year-old man had earlier been charged with a number of child sex offences including possessing child exploitation material and using a carriage service to groom persons under 16.

“After a thorough examination of the man’s computer, he has been further charged with another 931 child sex offences.”

The charges include rape, indecent treatment of children, making child exploitation material, using a carriage service to procure person under 16, and using a carriage service for child pornography material.

Bieber, who once enjoyed a squeaky clean image but has recently had frequent run-ins with the law, has a legendary army of fans dubbed “Beliebers”.

Detective Inspector Jon Rouse described the breadth of offences as “horrendous” and urged fans to be extra vigilant when using the internet.

“This investigation demonstrates both the vulnerability of children that are utilising social media and communication applications and the global reach and skill that child sex offenders have to groom and seduce victims,” he said.

“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.”

source: interaksyon.com

Justin Bieber flirts with retirement in Christmas Eve tweets

NEW YORK | Teenage pop star Justin Bieber sent out a series of mixed messages over his Twitter feed on Tuesday night, one of which said he was retiring, on the eve of the Christmas Day release of the latest film chronicling the life of the Canadian singer.

The tweet to the 19-year-old’s nearly 48 million followers – “My beloved beliebers I’m officially retiring” – was quickly followed by another message: “I’m never leaving you, being a belieber is a lifestyle.”

And then: “IM HERE FOREVER.”

Representatives for Bieber did not immediately respond to a request for clarification.

The Canadian singer has been involved in a series of headline-grabbing incidents over the past year.

In March, the singer scuffled with a photographer outside a London hotel during a European tour. Later that month, police were called to his Los Angeles area home after a neighbor claimed he had been threatened and struck by Bieber.

In June, Bieber struck a photographer with his Ferrari sports car while driving away from a comedy club in Los Angeles, though police said the accident was not considered a hit-and-run.

The movie, “Justin Bieber’s Believe,” which takes the name of Bieber’s third studio album, could help repair his image after the difficult year.

“I think people forget that it’s a 19-year-old kid, trying to figure it out,” Bieber’s manager, Scooter Braun, told ABC News, adding the film shows Bieber as “a human.”

At one point in the film, director Jon Chu suggests Bieber’s life could become a “train wreck.”

The “retirement” message went out on the night of Christmas Eve and by the following morning had nearly a quarter million retweets and over 185,000 favorites.

Twitter user @theycallmejerry tweeted: “A life without Justin Bieber. A life without my idol, hero, inspiration, my everything. Not the best thing to think about on Christmas Eve.”

On the other end of the spectrum, Twitter user CozImAGuy said, “Justin Bieber retiring is the greatest Christmas gift EVER.”

source: interaksyon.com