Police have launched an investigation into assault allegations made by a teen girl who was captured on video performing a sex act during the Eminem concert at Slane Castle in early August.
The 17-year-old student, dubbed “Slane Girl” by cyber bullies, has been the target of harassment on social media ever since the images showing her and a young man were posted online and went, according to a report in the Irish Independent.
The teen, who lives in the west of Ireland, had made a verbal complaint of sexual assault to authorities at the concert, and sought assistance in the medical tent.
A source told the Independent that officers had taken a statement from the girl giving her version of the events, and that a full investigation had been launched. The authorities are awaiting the results of blood tests that may show whether the young woman’s drink was spiked.
The police are investigating reports that the photos of the sex act were posted by a West Belfast man, but no charges have been filed yet.
After the sexual images were posted online, a video was uploaded to Youtube showing the girl being pushed and mocked by a mob of eight men as she kissed a young man. The video was removed by the site within an hour after posting.
The New York Daily News reports that Twitter, Instagram and Facebook have taken action to shut down all accounts found to be sharing the images of the sex act.
A Twitter spokesperson told the paper: “We do not tolerate child sexual exploitation on Twitter. When we are made aware of links to images of or content promoting child sexual exploitation they will be removed from the site without further notice and reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (‘NCMEC’).”
While the social media frenzy has been largely negative, there is a growing movement on Twitter to show support for the young woman, with posts using #slanegirlsolidarity.
Following the concert, which attracted a crowd of 80,000 to the Co. Meath venue, the young woman was treated at a midlands hospital, and has since been in seclusion at her family home in the west of Ireland.
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