Four members of a neo-Nazi online group have been charged with federal crimes accusing them of grooming and extorting more than a dozen children to produce pornographic media and violent videos of self-harm.
Two of the victims, according to the United States Department of Justice, were located in Southern California.
The men hail from various parts of the country, including New Jersey, Hawaii and Texas, as well as one French citizen.
On Thursday, Collin John Thomas Walker, 23, of Bridgeton, New Jersey, and Clint Jordan Lopaka Nahooikaika Borge, 41, of Pahoa, Hawaii, were arrested as part of a 19-page grand jury indictment.
Two men already in custody, Kaleb Christopher Merritt, 24, of Spring, Texas, and Rohan Sandeep Rane, 28, of Antibes, France, were also charged as part of the indictment, the DOJ said.
The four men are accused of being part of an international online neo-Nazi group that promoted pedophilia and nihilism, a philosophical belief that life and societal values are meaningless.
From at least 2019 to 2022, Rane, Walker and Merritt were high-ranking members in the group and ran its online servers and controlled its membership.
Federal officials said members of the group “worked collectively to entice and coerce children” to produce child pornography and violent videos of self-harm. Members would groom their victims, and then degrade them, slowly exposing them to extremist and violent content in order to desensitize and pressure them into complying.
The group specifically targeted vulnerable victims, including children who suffered from mental health issues or trauma from previous sexual abuse, officials said.
“Victims were encouraged to engage in increasingly dehumanizing acts, including cutting and eating their own hair, drinking their urine, punching themselves, calling themselves racial slurs, and using razor blades to carve members’ names into their skin,” a release from the DOJ stated.
The abuse would sometimes escalate to members encouraging the victims to kill themselves as part of a live video stream.
If victims refused or threatened to tell their parents or contact police, the group members would threaten to release sexually graphic photos and videos of the victims to their families and friends.
Those threats, the DOJ said, were sometimes carried through by members.
Sixteen minor children from around the world were said to be victims, according to the grand jury indictment, including two from Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties; the Los Angeles Police Department and San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department are among the agencies investigating the matter.
If convicted as charged, all four men would face a minimum 20-year sentence with the possibility of life in prison.
Rane, the French citizen, previously was charged with several child exploitation and related offenses and has been in custody in his home country since 2022. Merritt was previously convicted for child sex abuse crimes and is serving a 50-year sentence in a Virginia state prison.
The case was brought forward as part of the Justice Department’s Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the sexual abuse and exploitation of children, particularly online.
“Sextortion and other forms of online child sexual abuse have tragically altered the trajectory of too many young lives and this group preyed upon the vulnerable to fulfill their sick and twisted desires,” said Eddy Wang of the Homeland Security Investigations Los Angeles. “HSI and our partners will work tirelessly to protect children from victimization in communities across the United States and around the globe.”
For information about reporting online child sexual exploitation and abuse, click here.
If you or someone you know is experiencing mental distress or suicidal thoughts, you can contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by phone call or text. You can also visit 988lifeline.org.
