Man posed as Justin Bieber to groom hundreds of young victims online

Justin Bieber fans and their parents are being urged to be extra careful when using the internet after a man pretended to be the pop star in order to commit hundreds of child sex offenses.

The Australian man allegedly used online platforms like Facebook and Skype to communicate with his victims.

Police charged the 42-year-old law professor from Brisbane with 931 sex offenses including: possession of child exploitation material, using a carriage service to groom under-16's and indecent treatment of children.

“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," Detective Inspector Jon Rouse of the Task Force Argos, which investigates sex crimes, said.

"The breadth of offenses committed in this instance are frankly horrendous and I want to recognise the efforts and commitment of the investigative team at Taskforce Argos to keeping children safe.”

The crimes date back to at least 2007.