AFP warn bragging rights are fuelling a rise in extremists committing sadistic sextortion threats against kids

The Australian Federal Police is intensifying its efforts to disrupt networks of violent extremists who are coercing children to engage in self-harm, sexually explicit acts and sadistic violence.

In an exclusive interview, AFP Detective Superintendent Frank Rayner told The Nightly that violent online groups committing “sadistic sextortion” pose a new and depraved threat to Australian kids, in particular those who have unfettered internet access.

These criminals manipulate young victims into creating sexually explicit images, inflicting animal cruelty, performing self-harm, and committing random acts of violence — including murder — for their abusers’ entertainment and sense of fame.

Det-Supt Rayner, who has been Acting as Commander of the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation, said these fluid online groups don’t squarely fit into any single crime category.

Rather, sadistic sextortion often involves offences in the overlapping spheres of child abuse, cybercrime, organised crime and — in some instances — domestic terrorism.

Unlike the more commonly known crimes of online extortion and sextortion, sadistic sextortion is not motivated purely by financial or sexual gain.

Instead, members of these extreme groups are motivated by gaining notoriety, fame and increased status within their online networks.

“It’s an almost harder to define benefit for them,” said Det-Supt Rayner.

“It’s more for bragging rights or the ability to say that you control another person.”

An explosion of sadistic sextortion cases overseas, particularly in the US, has revealed how rapidly this crime type is escalating.

Multiple international law enforcement agencies have recently issued urgent warnings about these groups who target kids on popular social media, messaging and gaming platforms.

The AFP is starting to see more cases of sadistic sextortion here with the exploitation “becoming more extreme”.

The AFP – through the ACCCE and the Joint Policing Cybercrime Coordination Centre (JPC3) – has been working heavily with its international law enforcement partners to combat the emerging threat.

“These groups and this type of offending is very much a concern to the AFP,” said Det-Supt Rayner.

“We do have dedicated resources that we are using to target these groups.

“It’s absolutely … a priority and something we are focussed on and will not tolerate.”

Det-Supt Rayner said the AFP is using every available resource to disrupt these dangerous groups, track down perpetrators and hold them accountable.

“I think they do feel invincible with the use of encryption, virtual private networks, other anonymising technology and the dark web but that won’t deter us,” he said.

“We do have specialists who work in JPC3 and cybercrime areas, technical specialists here and around the world, focused on this.

“We won’t let those obstacles or technical difficulties stop us from investigating this type of crime and more importantly identify and try to help victims.”

These depraved criminal cults have their own hierarchy, leaders and sometimes thousands of members from around the world.

They use many names — including 676, 764, CVLT, Court, Kaskar, Harm Nation, Leak Society, and H3ll — but continuously evolve and form subgroups under different monikers.

Members of these groups — which control their victims through extreme fear — are committing many major and serious crimes.

A recent incident in Sweden, in which a 14-year-old boy live-streamed himself stabbing elderly members of the public, has authorities on high alert.

“I don’t want to speculate but (it’s) an example of what this type of offending could lead to (here),” said Det-Supt Rayner.

“It’s really something that has become of concern to us in that it seems to be expanding.

“We’re seeing more instances of this type of behaviour.”

A number of Australians have already been prosecuted for sadistic sextortion offences.

Last month, New South Wales Police Sex Crimes Squad charged Jake Thomas Vandermeel for allegedly committing violent and extreme blackmail against a 15-year-old girl who he met online.

Vandermeel allegedly groomed a ‘vulnerable young girl’ online for almost a year before threatening to abduct, rape and kill her.

In recent years the Western Australia Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team charged a 14-year-old boy after finding that he had been targeting victims around the world.

This month, in the United States, a 764 member known as “Rabid” was sentenced to 30 years in jail for child sexual exploitation and for his role in creating 764’s online networks that committed sadistic sextortion.

Richard Anthony Reyna Densmore became notorious in the 764 network by creating online “Sewer” communities on Discord where members recruited children – including by infiltrating online gaming sites that children frequent — to cut themselves and engage in graphic sexual acts.

The US Department of Justice this month warned that these networks of violent extremists seek to normalise the production, sharing and possession of child pornography and gore material to “desensitise and corrupt youth toward future acts of violence”.

“Members of 764 gain notoriety by systematically targeting, grooming, and extorting victims through online social media platforms,” the DoJ said.

“Members demand that victims engage in and share media of self-mutilation, sexual acts, harm to animals, acts of random violence, suicide, and murder, all for the purpose of accelerating chaos and disrupting society and the world order.”

Det-Supt Rayner said young people with unfettered access to the internet and the ability to spend long periods of time online, unsupervised, were particularly vulnerable.

“The methodology of these groups seems to be identifying someone who is willing to engage and also then able to continue to engage as the requests become more and more extreme,” he said.

“It would be easy if we could say these groups only target people struggling with mental health, low self-esteem or poor family situations but they’re not the sole factors.”

The Superintendent of Operations said that while the crime is largely hidden online, it cannot be ignored.

The AFP is desperate to prevent the abuse, as much as possible, through education and awareness.

Det-Supt Rayner urged parents to talk to their children about online safety, monitor their social media use and let them know help is always available if they make a mistake.

“Carers and family members to be ultra-alive to the fact that kids are vulnerable to this type of coercion,” he said.

“And just be aware of some of the warning signs because early intervention is really crucial.

“It is very hard to see and difficult to talk about but … we can’t pretend this doesn’t exist.”

If you think you are a victim or know of someone who is a victim of sadistic sextortion:

• DO stop the chat
• DO take screenshots of the text and profile
• DO block the account and report it to the platform
• DO get support from a trusted friend or family member, or professional support services and seek mental health support if required.
• Kids Helpline offers free and confidential sessions with counsellors.
• DO report the crime to the ACCCE
• DON’T send more images or pay as this will lead to more demands
• DON’T respond to demands
• DON’T enter into further communication
• DON’T think you are alone

If you’re concerned about your or someone else’s safety, dial Triple Zero or contact your local police station.

If you have information about people involved in child abuse, you are urged to contact the ACCCE at www.accce.gov.au/report.

If you know abuse is happening right now or a child is at risk, call police immediately on 000.