‘The allegations on this case are usually not solely disturbing, they’re additionally each guardian’s nightmare,’ U.S. Legal professional Edward R. Martin Jr. stated.
Two leaders of a kid exploitation community generally known as 764 have been arrested, federal officers introduced on Wednesday.
Prasan Nepal, 20, of Excessive Level, North Carolina, was arrested on April 22 in North Carolina. Leonidas Varagiannis, 21, was arrested on April 29 in Greece on a global warrant.
Each defendants face costs of working a global youngster exploitation enterprise, marking a serious takedown of an operation that targets harmless youngsters, in keeping with FBI Director Kash Patel.
Varagiannis has denied the allegations. He appeared in court docket on Wednesday earlier than an appellate prosecutor and opposed extradition, in keeping with Greek judicial authorities and his lawyer.
“All through the interval throughout which the alleged offenses passed off, he was residing in Greece. Due to this fact, Greek regulation and courts have jurisdiction over the case, and his extradition is explicitly prohibited,” his lawyer, Xanthippi Moysidou, informed The Related Press.
Nepal is at the moment within the Guilford County, North Carolina, jail on a federal maintain and has a public defender.
Federal prosecutors allege the 2 males focused youngsters as younger as 13 years previous from late 2020 by early 2025 throughout a number of jurisdictions by the 764 prison enterprise.
“These networks use threats, blackmail, and manipulation to coerce or extort victims into producing, sharing, or live-streaming acts of self-harm, animal cruelty, sexually specific acts, and/or suicide,” the FBI stated.
The fabric is used as leverage to drive victims to carry out acts of violence and even self-harm. The community additionally engages in swatting and harassment to silence its victims.
The case was introduced as a part of Venture Secure Childhood, a nationwide initiative to fight the epidemic of kid sexual exploitation and abuse. The DOJ launched the initiative in Might 2006.
The initiative makes use of federal, state, and native sources to find, arrest, and prosecute those that exploit youngsters by the web. It additionally goals to determine and rescue victims.
Legal professional Common Pam Bondi on Wednesday referred to as for swift justice within the case.
Varagiannis will stay in custody till a court docket of appeals guidelines on the U.S. extradition request.
If convicted, each defendants face a most penalty of life in jail.
The Related Press contributed to this report.