'Justin Bieber impostor' charged with 931 child sex offences

A university lecturer who allegedly posed as Justin Bieber online in order to groom underage girls has been charged with 931 child sex offences

Gordon Douglas Chalmers, 42, who teaches law at Queensland University of Technology in Australia, is accused of pretending to be the Canadian pop star on social media sites to trick children into sending him explicit pictures.

"It will be alleged that the man used multiple online platforms including Facebook and Skype to communicate with his victims," Queensland Police said.

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The fake Bieber profiles initially attracted the attention of German detectives and US Homeland Security, who passed the information on to Queensland's Taskforce Argos, a specialist police unit targeting online child exploitation and abuse.

Chalmers was arrested last November and appeared in a Brisbane magistrates' court on charges of possession of child exploitation material and grooming underage children, the Courier Mail reports.

He was denied bail.

After a "thorough examination" of Chalmers's computer, detectives say they have uncovered evidence of more than 900 additional counts relating to rape, indecency and child pornography dating back to at least 2007, reports the Brisbane Times.

Detective Inspector Jon Rouse said the breadth of offences uncovered by the investigation was "frankly horrendous" and exposed the "global reach and skill" of online predators.

"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," he added.