The FBI told the News4 I-Team it’s growing very concerned about a violent extremist criminal organization, commonly referred to as “764,” which they say targets vulnerable children online.
More than 350 people with potential ties to the group are being investigated, a spokesperson said, and every FBI field office across the country is involved with cases.
According to the FBI, the group gets its name from the first three digits of the zip code in Texas where it’s believed to have started, before spreading around the globe.
Members of the group befriend children through publicly available messaging platforms and gaming sites before enticing them to harm themselves or others, investigators say.
“This is perversion like I’ve never seen,” said D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who said her team has been tracking cases, too. “It’s a child exploitation enterprise where a group is joined with a common goal of basically destroying young children. It’s not only about child exploitation; it’s about child mutilation.”
Now, Pirro’s office has charged two men they say were leaders in 764.
“They work on the most vulnerable,” she said. “They find the ones who are lonely, who don’t have a family or a strong family, who are alone after school.”
According to the federal indictment, the defendants are accused of teaching other prospective 764 members – including some in the District – how to groom minors to engage in acts of violence.
Most details are too graphic to mention, but they include having children record themselves or livestream taking part in self-mutilation, sexual acts or harming animals, all for the purpose of gaining notoriety within the network.
“They’re having children pour bleach on their arms and then light their arms on fire,” Pirro said.
The indictment says members of 764 also share a guide with instructions on how to extort victims – blackmailing them to create content and threatening to release images to family and friends if they don’t. That included a minor in Maryland, according to the indictment.
“They use extortion as a form of discipline to little girls who might not have a father at home,” Pirro said.
One of the named defendants, Prasan Nepal, pleaded not guilty. His attorney did not respond to News4’s request for any comment.
“This defendant right now that we’ve got in D.C. is facing life in prison if he is found guilty of the crimes within which we include in our indictment,” Pirro said. “These are horrific acts.”
She said the second defendant – a U.S. citizen – resides in Greece. He has not been extradited, but Pirro said he faces charges there. An attorney is not listed for him.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) told the I-Team it’s seen a sharp increase in these types of cases, which they call “sadistic online exploitation.”
NCMEC CyberTipline Director Fallon McNulty said in the first nine months of this year, they’ve tracked more than 2,000 reports. According to NCMEC data, 75% of the victims in these cases are 14 to 17 years old, and 21% are 11 to 13 years old.
All parents need to talk to their kids about this threat and be aware of what they’re doing online, Pirro said. Experts recommend parents also look for fresh cuts or bruises on their kids, as well as sudden changes in behavior or appearance, including wearing long sleeves or pants in unusual circumstances.
“Do they keep me up at night? Some do,” Pirro said about the cases. “They would keep any human being up at night if that human being were normal. But when you do the work that we do, we deal with the lowest of the low.”
Last month, in a separate case, a federal grand jury indicted a 20-year-old Maryland man for alleged crimes against three girls with possible ties to 764. The man faces charges including cyberstalking and sexual exploitation, coercion and enticement of a child. If convicted, he could face a minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of 30, according to the Maryland U.S. attorney.
These cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse online.
Reported by Tracee Wilkins, produced by Rick Yarborough, and shot and edited by Steve Jones.
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