Australian Influencer Accused of ‘Torturing’ Her 1-Year-Old in Scam to Get Followers, Donations

Mar. 15, 2025

Queensland Police.Photo:Queensland Police

Queensland Police

An Australian influencer has been charged with poisoning and torturing her 1-year-old daughter in an effort to make her sick and then leverage her illness online for donations and social media followers.

The Queensland Police Departmentannounced the chargesagainst the 34-year-old woman on Thursday, alleging that the woman’s infant daughter “was being subject to immense distress and pain” while her mother “filmed and posted videos of the child” in order to drum up sympathy and attention online.

“We will do everything in our power to remove that child from harm’s way and hold any offender to account,” Detective Inspector Paul Dalton said in a statement. “There is no excuse for harming a child, especially not a one-year-old infant who is reliant on others for care and survival.”

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The mother would then post videos of her daughter online, police said, pocketing donations and gaining social media followers. The mother had raised roughly $60,000 in Australian dollars, or about $37,000 USD, the BBCreported. GoFundMe is working to refund the donations, according to the outlet.

“It is alleged the content produced exploited the child and was used to entice monetary donations and online followers,” Queensland Police said in its news release Thursday.

The woman was arrested Thursday after testing on the “unauthorized medicines returned a positive result” last week. The mother is expected to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday. PEOPLE was not immediately able to reach an attorney for her.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

source: people.com