Probe into claims of grooming

CAIRNS police say they are yet to find “any offences committed” by a Manunda Hawks footballer, who earlier this week was alleged to be grooming underage girls on social media.

The AFL’s integrity unit are continuing to look into the matter, with the player’s actions potentially violating the AFL’s Social Media Engagement Policy.

If the footballer is found to have violated those policies, he would face a suspension or a potential fine from the AFL Cairns competition.

The Hawks footballer met with police earlier this week and Detective Senior Sergeant Mick Gooiker said while investigations were ongoing, they had not found any crimes that have been committed.

“At this stage we are investigating it, but we have not got a complainant,” Gooiker said. “There is no offences that have been identified by that person.

“Investigations are ongoing, as they always are with these things, they are quite complex.

“We have not have identified any offences that have been committed at this point.”

Police were looking into claims the Hawks player asked underage girls for photos of their bodies on social media, with members of one family posting screenshots of the alleged conversations on social media.

A Cairns woman made the claims on social media on Monday (August 31), claiming the local Manunda player first sent photos to girls and then asked if they would like to make money by sending him photos of themselves in return.