- Oct 17, 2011
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FBI officials say they are growing increasingly concerned about a loose network of violent predators who befriend teenagers through popular online platforms and then coerce them into escalating sexual and violent behavior -- pushing victims to create graphic pornography, harm family pets, cut themselves with sharp objects, or even die by suicide.
The online predators, part of the network known as "764," demand victims send them photos and videos of it all, so the shocking content can be shared with fellow 764 followers or used to extort victims for more. Some of the predators even host "watch parties" for others to watch them torment victims live online, according to authorities.
The FBI has more than 250 such investigations currently underway, with every single one of its 55 field offices across the country handling a 764-related case, Scott told ABC News in an exclusive interview.
As [FBI Assistant Director] Scott described it, one of the main goals of 764 and similar networks is to "sow chaos" and "bring down society."
That's why the FBI's Counterterrorism Division and the Justice Department's National Security Division are now looking at 764 and its offshoots as a potential form of domestic terrorism, even coining a new term to characterize the most heinous actors: "nihilistic violent extremists."
Though charging documents don't identify the founder by name, federal law enforcement sources identified him to ABC News as Bradley Cadenhead, who is serving an 80-year-prison sentence in Texas after pleading guilty to several child pornography-related charges in 2023.
The online predators, part of the network known as "764," demand victims send them photos and videos of it all, so the shocking content can be shared with fellow 764 followers or used to extort victims for more. Some of the predators even host "watch parties" for others to watch them torment victims live online, according to authorities.
The FBI has more than 250 such investigations currently underway, with every single one of its 55 field offices across the country handling a 764-related case, Scott told ABC News in an exclusive interview.
As [FBI Assistant Director] Scott described it, one of the main goals of 764 and similar networks is to "sow chaos" and "bring down society."
That's why the FBI's Counterterrorism Division and the Justice Department's National Security Division are now looking at 764 and its offshoots as a potential form of domestic terrorism, even coining a new term to characterize the most heinous actors: "nihilistic violent extremists."
Though charging documents don't identify the founder by name, federal law enforcement sources identified him to ABC News as Bradley Cadenhead, who is serving an 80-year-prison sentence in Texas after pleading guilty to several child pornography-related charges in 2023.
