Unmasked: Who are the members of satanic and neo-Nazi cults 764 and CVLT targeting kids on Roblox
A baby-faced teen was exposed as the leader of online cult 764 which has targeted Aussie kids. See the list of alleged perpetrators.
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Australian kids are being targeted by violent online networks with satanic and neo-Nazi links, with one school-aged victim blackmailed into providing up to 100 sexually-explicit images and videos of herself to abusers from a cult group called 764.
The FBI was so concerned about these organisations it issued an alert in September 2023 naming 764, 676, CVLT, Court, Kaskar, Harm Nation, Leak Society, and H3ll, and warning they were continuously evolving and forming subgroups under different monikers.
It said these groups were deliberately targeting children aged eight to 17, on publicly available messaging platforms and a key motivator was “to gain notoriety and rise in status”.
Cult members often find and groom victims on computer games such as Roblox, before persuading them to move onto other chat platforms such as Discord and Telegram, where the abuse happens.
“These groups use threats, blackmail, and manipulation to control the victims into recording or live-streaming self-harm, sexually explicit acts, and/or suicide; the footage is then circulated among members to extort victims further and exert control over them,” the statement read.
Unlike most sextortion crimes where victims are tricked into providing sexually explicit images of themselves to criminals who then blackmail them for money, these groups are after “hurtcore” content, generally depicting a child suffering or in pain.
The Australian Federal Police said it was aware of 764 and was “actively engaged in intelligence sharing with international law enforcement partners to detect, disrupt and investigate groups like 764 targeting children around the world”.
The AFP refused to reveal how many Australian victims of these cults there were.
The mother of the Australian victim said the “violence was next level”.
Both Roblox and Discord said they employed thousands of people on keeping their sites safe, with Roblox saying it uses rigorous, industry-leading text chat filters to block attempts to take someone off its platform or use questions to get personal information such as a phone number or address of another user. A Discord spokesperson said its safety team “has played a key role in combating 764 by proactively identifying, removing, and banning related accounts and users”.
Telegram said previously it initiates immediate action if content such as child sexual abuse material is reported.
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said “industry must do more to prevent serious harms on their platforms”.
She said tech companies need to rapidly remove harmful content and prevent repeat offenders from resurfacing to inflict further damage.
“Technology companies need to be investing in better tooling and signals to detect and deter repeat offenders,” Ms Inman Grant said.
KEY PLAYERS UNMASKED
The FBI issued a public service announcement in September 2023 warning people about online groups who extort minors to self-harm and produce child sexual abuse material.
BRADLEY CADENHEAD
Baby-faced 764 cult leader, 17, from Texas was sentenced to 80 years in prison after pleading guilty to nine counts including possessing and promoting child pornography. One video retrieved from Cadenhead’s computer showed one of his followers killing her hamster.
KALEB MERRITT
The 23-year-old member of CVLT was sentenced to 350 years in 2022 after he drove 20 hours to kidnap and rape a 12-year-old girl he had been abusing online.
ANGEL ALMEIDA
The 23-year-old was indicted last year on child pornography and child exploitation charges. US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said the “defendant’s alleged exploitation of minors has been extremely harmful mentally, emotionally and physically to his victims”.
RICHARD ANTHONY REYNA DENSMORE
The 47-year-old with alleged links to 764 has been indicted by a federal grand jury for sexual exploitation of a child, conspiracy to sexually exploit a child, coercion and enticement, and possession of child pornography.
KALANA LIMKIN
The 18-year-old was indicted by a federal grand jury in December on a charge of possession of child pornography. During an interview with the FBI, Limkin, who lives in Hawaii, allegedly “admitted to being the creator of Cultist, an online splinter group of 764.
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