Trigger warning: This article discusses child sexual exploitation, sextortion, self-harm, suicide, and violence. It avoids graphic details while explaining the tactics federal authorities say these networks use.
They met on a popular social media platform. She was 12. He was in his 20’s. He showered her with attention, claimed he loved her, and that she was his girlfriend. A tactic he had used on countless others.
Once she felt comfortable with him, he sent her sexually explicit videos, then coerced her into sending him videos of herself in return. He pushed the demands, asking her to cut herself, to kill, and to mutilate animals. If she didn’t, he threatened to leak the videos and even that he would kill her.
Sadly, this story isn’t unique.
A young teen gets a message from someone online. Maybe they meet through social media, a messaging app, or a gaming platform. The person seems understanding. They know what to say. They build trust.
Then the conversation changes.
A request becomes a threat. A private image becomes leverage. And suddenly, the young person believes that if they don’t obey, something humiliating or devastating will happen.
Many families have learned to recognize this pattern as sextortion. Often, the demand is money. But federal authorities are warning about another form of online exploitation in which perpetrators reportedly use sexual images to demand something different: more sexual content, humiliation, self-harm, violence, or other increasingly dangerous acts.
One network at the center of those warnings is commonly known as “764.”
Authorities trace 764’s origins to 2021, when 15-year-old Texas teenager reportedly created the network and named it after the first three digits of his ZIP code. In the years since, 764 has expanded far beyond its original circle. Experts now describe it less as one clearly defined organization and more as a decentralized ideology or online movement. Authorities say numerous offshoots have emerged under different names while adopting similar methods, including grooming, coercion, sexual exploitation, blackmail, and violence.
‘Most Prolific’ Member Sentenced
On August 19, 2026, Kyle William Spitze was sentenced to 77 years in federal prison for crimes involving child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and other abusive content. Another perpetrator, 17, was also recently sentenced to prison for his involvement with the 764 network. For the first time ever, a juvenile was charged in federal court for exploiting and extorting individuals in connection with the group. These sentences marked major moments of accountability—but the survivor’s stories show why understanding 764 matters far beyond two prosecutions.
Unlike current common sextortion schemes, where predators primarily target young males, often athletes, these groups target underage females.
According to Abc News, “While anyone can be targeted, members of 764 and similar online networks often target underage females, first befriending them and then using threats, blackmail, and other forms of manipulation to extort them into sharing or live-streaming acts of pornography, self-harm, animal torture, and even suicide, according to authorities.”
Spitze’s sentence included producing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), possessing and accessing CSAM with intent to view it, and abetting the distribution of animal-cruelty videos. The Department of Justice called it the longest federal prison sentence ever imposed on a person it classifies as a “nihilistic violent extremist.” He will also face lifetime supervised release after imprisonment.U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs. (2026, August 19). 764 extremist group member sentenced to 77 years in prison for the production of child sexual abuse material and the distribution of animal crushing videos. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/764-extremist-group-member-sentenced-77-years-prison-production-child-sexual-abuse-materialCopy
Spitze’s case offers a disturbing look at a form of online sexual exploitation that many parents, educators, and young people may not know exists.
And understanding how it works could help someone recognize danger before an abuser gains more control.
Who Is Kyle Spitze, and What Did He Do?
According to the Justice Department, Spitze—who used several online aliases—was an original member of networks known as Harm Nation and 764 and served as an administrator of Harm Nation. Federal investigators began examining Harm Nation in December 2023 after receiving tips that members were distributing child sexual abuse material.
Investigators later obtained a warrant to search Spitze’s phone. According to the DOJ, they found images and videos involving two minor victims. One victim later told the FBI that Spitze had threatened her into producing images that he intended to upload to another social-media channel.
Spitze ultimately pleaded guilty to two counts of producing child sexual exploitation material, one count of abetting the distribution of animal-cruelty videos, and one count of possessing and accessing child sexual exploitation material with intent to view it. The Justice Department also said Spitze admitted to investigators that his crimes had a terrorist motive.
Spitze pleaded guilty, and a federal judge has now sentenced him. But Spitze also shouldn’t simply be described as “the top leader of 764.” Federal authorities describe 764 as a sprawling network of numerous related groups and offshoots, rather than a conventional organization with a single stable hierarchy. The Justice Department identified Spitze as an original member of 764 and an administrator of Harm Nation. Other prosecutions have identified other individuals as leaders of 764 or particular subgroups.
That decentralized structure is part of what makes the threat difficult to understand.
What Is the 764 Network?
“764” has become an umbrella term used by law enforcement for a collection of overlapping online communities whose members target children and other vulnerable people.
In March 2025, the FBI issued a national warning about a sharp increase in activity involving 764 and related violent online networks. The agency said these networks operate in the United States and internationally, targeting victims on the same kinds of platforms that millions of young people use every day: social media, gaming platforms, messaging services, and mobile apps.Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2025, March 6). Violent online networks target vulnerable and underage populations across the United States and around the globe. https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/cyber/alerts/2025/violent-online-networks-target-vulnerable-and-underage-populations-across-the-united-states-and-around-the-globeCopy
According to the FBI, victims are commonly between 10 and 17 years old, although investigators have encountered victims as young as nine. The FBI says perpetrators often seek out young people experiencing existing vulnerabilities, including depression, eating disorders, or suicidal thoughts. They may begin by establishing what appears to be a friendship or romantic relationship. That initial connection can become the foundation for control.
Once perpetrators obtain compromising material or personal information, they can use threats, manipulation, blackmail, doxxing, or threats to expose sexual content to pressure victims into increasingly harmful behavior.
By February 2026, the FBI said it was investigating more than 350 subjects nationwide connected to violent online networks commonly called 764, while emphasizing that many offshoots operate under different names. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Office. (2026, February 19). FBI Boston warns of nihilistic violent extremists targeting children and vulnerable victims online. https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/boston/news/fbi-boston-warns-of-nihilistic-violent-extremists-targeting-children-and-vulnerable-victims-onlineCopy
This isn’t one chatroom that authorities can simply shut down. It’s an evolving online ecosystem that often involves creating sexually explicit images of children and then blackmailing them into more harmful behavior.
This Type of Sextortion Isn’t Always About Money
For many people, the word “sextortion” brings one scenario to mind. Someone pretending to be a teenager gets a young person to send a sexual image. Then the offender threatens to send it to friends and family unless the victim pays.
That form of financial sextortion is a serious global problem, but the 764 cases show why families need a broader understanding of sextortion because money isn’t always the goal. The FBI says members of these violent networks may use threats and blackmail to coerce victims into producing sexual imagery, harming themselves, harming animals, committing violence, or creating recordings of those acts.
In other words, the sexual image can become leverage.
Once an offender possesses something a victim desperately doesn’t want exposed, that material can become a tool for demanding something else. This is why sextortion is fundamentally about coercion and control, not simply money.
Sexual Exploitation Material Can Become a Form of “Currency”
A separate 2025 federal case against two alleged leaders of a subgroup called “764 Inferno” helps explain another part of this exploitation model.
According to the Justice Department’s criminal complaint, members allegedly compiled CSAM and violent material into digital collections sometimes called “Lorebooks.” Authorities alleged that members traded and archived this material and used it to recruit others or maintain status inside the network.U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs. (2025, April 29). Leaders of 764 arrested and charged for operating a global child exploitation enterprise. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/leaders-764-arrested-and-charged-operating-global-child-exploitation-enterpriseCopy The federal investigation illustrates an important distinction between this type of exploitation and the financial sextortion many families already recognize.
Sexual content can serve several purposes simultaneously.
It can give an abuser leverage over a victim. It can become material circulated among offenders. It can function as proof that someone successfully manipulated another person. And according to federal authorities, collections of abusive material can help members gain status or recruit others. This turns a victim’s exploitation into a social commodity within an abusive community.
The images aren’t simply “content.” They document the abuse of a real person whose fear, boundaries, and dignity have been deliberately exploited.
How Do Kids Get Pulled Into This?
The danger doesn’t necessarily announce itself with a threatening message from a stranger. The FBI says perpetrators may start by creating trust or a seemingly romantic relationship. They can look for vulnerabilities, offer attention or a sense of belonging, and gradually manipulate the conversation.
This resembles a well-established pattern in online grooming: the perpetrator builds access and trust before escalating demands.
The FBI’s May 2026 warning to parents explained that members of networks such as 764 often connect with minors through popular gaming and social-media platforms (Discord, Roblox, Instagram, X, Reddit, etc.), pose as friends, and then use personal information or explicit images to blackmail victims into producing more content or engaging in increasingly harmful behavior.Federal Bureau of Investigation, Dallas Field Office. (2026, May 12). FBI Dallas open letter to parents, guardians, and teachers. https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/dallas/news/fbi-dallas-open-letter-to-parents-guardians-and-teachersCopy
A young person may agree to one request without understanding what comes next. Once the perpetrator has material they can threaten to expose, the power dynamic can change dramatically. And fear can keep a victim trapped. The victim may believe that complying one more time will finally make the threats stop.
But compliance can instead give the offender more material and more leverage.
764 Also Challenges the “Stranger Danger” Model
It would be comforting to imagine every offender as an obviously dangerous adult lurking behind a fake profile. Reality is more complicated. 764 and related networks can involve both young perpetrators and adults. Online exploitation can move through peer groups, digital subcultures, and communities where vulnerable young people may act as victims, participants, recruiters, or perpetrators at different points.
That’s one reason simply telling kids “don’t talk to strangers” isn’t enough.
A dangerous interaction may come from someone a young person considers a friend. It may happen inside a group chat. A perpetrator may be another young person. And an abusive community can offer belonging before revealing the behavior it expects from members.
Healthy online-safety education, therefore, has to go beyond identifying suspicious strangers. Young people need to recognize coercive behavior.
Does someone demand secrecy? Do they threaten consequences for leaving a conversation? Do they pressure someone for sexual images? Do they use an existing image to demand another? Do they encourage self-harm or violence? Do they threaten to expose personal information, images, messages, or someone’s identity?
Those behaviors matter regardless of who is behind the account. Children should always feel confident and safe if they notice any of these harmful behaviors online to talk to a trusted adult.
What Does Porn Have to Do With 764?
Federal authorities say members of these networks produce, collect, distribute, and weaponize sexual images involving children. The DOJ alleges that some network members have treated abusive sexual material as something to trade, archive, use for status, or deploy to manipulate additional victims.
That illustrates a broader reality about sexual content online: an image on a screen can represent a real person’s exploitation.
Fight the New Drug has long emphasized that sexual media can’t always be separated from the circumstances under which someone produced it. An image can exist because someone freely chose to create it. But it can also exist because someone was groomed, threatened, coerced, trafficked, recorded without consent, or otherwise exploited.
With CSAM, there is no ambiguity: children cannot consent to being sexually exploited.
The 764 cases make the human reality behind these files especially clear. What an offender may collect as an image, video, status symbol, or piece of “content” represents an actual child subjected to abuse. Sexual exploitation turns people into products for someone else’s gratification, power, status, or control. Protecting human dignity requires looking past the file on a screen and recognizing the person behind it.
Warning Signs Families Should Know
The FBI has published specific warning signs connected to 764 and related networks.
Not every warning sign means a child is being exploited, and parents should avoid treating ordinary teenage privacy or mood changes as proof of abuse. Instead, sudden or unusual combinations of behaviors can provide a reason to check in with care rather than accusation.
The FBI advises parents and caregivers to pay attention to warning signs that can include:
- Sudden withdrawal from family, friends, or usual activities.
- Unexplained changes in online behavior or secretive communication.
- Receiving threats, being doxxed, or experiencing “swatting.”
- Unexplained injuries or signs of self-harm.
- Possessing or sharing disturbing violent or sexual material.
- Online contacts who pressure a young person to keep secrets, provide sexual content, or complete increasingly harmful demands.
- Sudden fear or panic connected to a phone, account, message, or online relationship.
Most importantly, a young person needs to know that telling a safe adult will bring help, not humiliation. Shame benefits the exploiter. Connection weakens the exploiter’s control.
If a Young Person Is Being Threatened, Don’t Treat Them Like They’re in Trouble
Imagine being 14 years old and believing someone is seconds away from sending an intimate image to your parents, classmates, teammates, or entire school. In that moment, the consequences can feel permanent. An offender benefits when the victim believes there is nowhere safe to turn.
That’s why one of the most important messages adults can communicate before anything happens is simple: If somebody threatens you online, come to me. Whatever happened before that moment, we’ll deal with it together.
A young person who shared an image, trusted the wrong account, entered a dangerous community, or complied with an earlier demand still deserves protection.
If exploitation is happening, preserve relevant messages and evidence rather than forwarding sexual images of minors. Stop engaging with the perpetrator when it is safe to do so, involve a trusted adult, and report the situation to the appropriate platform and authorities.
In the United States, suspected online child sexual exploitation can be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s CyberTipline. Tips can also be submitted to the FBI. If someone faces immediate physical danger, contact emergency services.
If a young person is experiencing suicidal thoughts or an immediate mental-health crisis in the United States, call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If there is an immediate threat to life, call 911.
More information on the 764 network can be found here.
Your Support Matters Now More Than Ever
Most kids today are exposed to porn by the age of 12. By the time they’re teenagers, 75% of boys and 70% of girls have already viewed itRobb, M.B., & Mann, S. (2023). Teens and pornography. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense.Copy —often before they’ve had a single healthy conversation about it.
Even more concerning: over half of boys and nearly 40% of girls believe porn is a realistic depiction of sexMartellozzo, E., Monaghan, A., Adler, J. R., Davidson, J., Leyva, R., & Horvath, M. A. H. (2016). “I wasn’t sure it was normal to watch it”: A quantitative and qualitative examination of the impact of online pornography on the values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of children and young people. Middlesex University, NSPCC, & Office of the Children’s Commissioner.Copy . And among teens who have seen porn, more than 79% of teens use it to learn how to have sexRobb, M.B., & Mann, S. (2023). Teens and pornography. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense.Copy . That means millions of young people are getting sex ed from violent, degrading content, which becomes their baseline understanding of intimacy. Out of the most popular porn, 33%-88% of videos contain physical aggression and nonconsensual violence-related themesFritz, N., Malic, V., Paul, B., & Zhou, Y. (2020). A descriptive analysis of the types, targets, and relative frequency of aggression in mainstream pornography. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(8), 3041-3053. doi:10.1007/s10508-020-01773-0Copy Bridges et al., 2010, “Aggression and Sexual Behavior in Best-Selling Pornography Videos: A Content Analysis,” Violence Against Women.Copy .
From increasing rates of loneliness, depression, and self-doubt, to distorted views of sex, reduced relationship satisfaction, and riskier sexual behavior among teens, porn is impacting individuals, relationships, and society worldwideFight the New Drug. (2024, May). Get the Facts (Series of web articles). Fight the New Drug.Copy .
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