Video of First XV players in party sex act spreads online

An explicit video shared on social media of two First XV rugby players engaged in a sexual act has come to the attention of police.

It stems from a celebration party involving players from a South Island school after a win over a rival college.

During the alcohol-fuelled gettogether at a private home, a sex act involving two boys was allegedly performed, the Herald on Sunday understands.

The incident was filmed and shared on social media. But it’s understood the video later ended up being shared more widely online, including with a pupil from another school.

The Herald on Sunday has chosen not to name the parties involved.

Police confirmed they were “aware of the existence of the video”. However, a spokeswoman said they had not received a formal complaint.

The principal of the school did not respond to approaches for comment.

Netsafe chief executive Martin Cocker says sharing the video could result in charges under the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015.

If anyone was sent a video they were concerned about, they should contact Netsafe or police, Cocker said, which would spark inquiries.

“Just because you can record something and share it online doesn’t mean you should.

“People tend to do it in the spur of the moment, they do it without thinking, but it’s pretty obvious that it’s not acceptable,” Cocker said.

“But the key thing for us is that it does happen and we try to, as quickly as possible, respond to it and reduce the spread of a video if it’s causing harm to the people in it.”