Aussie teen girl to speak at sentencing for sadistic cult ringleader Kyle Spitze
An Aussie teen blackmailed by a sadistic online cult ringleader will speak against him at his sentencing, after police found images of her on his phone. WARNING: Graphic
EXCLUSIVE: The FBI has asked an Australian teenager blackmailed into livestreaming self-harm and live sex shows to speak at the sentencing of one of the ringleaders of a sadistic extremist online cult.
Kyle Spitze, 25, a notorious member of terror groups 764 and offshoot HarmNation – where offenders compete with each other to coerce kids to kill their pets and produce sexual and violent content – is due to be sentenced in a court in Tennessee in July.
Among the heinous crimes he has agreed to plead guilty to are possessing child sexual abuse material – some were of a child aged 12 – and distributing ‘animal crushing’ videos.
His charges relate to US victims, but the FBI have also found images of the Australian girl, who we are not naming, on Spitze’s phone.
After being contacted by the FBI via the Australian Federal Police, both the Australian girl and her mother will give victim impact statements via video link at Spitze’s sentencing. A detective from the NSW police has been helping them with their statements.
The mother said these predators were pure evil and her daughter, who was left suicidal, was “covered with scars that are visible, and those inside her that are not”.
“She was made to mutilate her body and encouraged to starve herself, leading to a diagnosis of anorexia,” her mum said.
She hopes being allowed to read her impact statement to Spitze will give her 18-year-old daughter, who was 16 at the time of the abuse, some power back.
Spitze, who operated under the name ‘Criminal’, was a leading figure in this global network of dangerous deviants, who work individually and collectively, to abuse young victims.
The Australian girl found herself passed virtually to different members around the world, including a man in Sweden.
Explicit images of her were made public as punishment for not complying with their demands.
Later, one ordered her to murder the family pet cat which she also refused.
In revenge, members “swatted her” – made calls to the Australian police with false allegations – which led to a dozen armed police surrounding the family home.
The Australian Federal Police released warnings about sadistic sextortion groups last year.
Helen Schneider, from the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE), said these offenders – many are children – exploit other children “for their deranged amusement”.
“The content we’ve seen demanded includes live sex acts, animal cruelty, serious self harm and requests for livestreamed suicide of our victims,” she said.
The groups seek out children on popular social media and gaming apps, like Roblox, Minecraft, Instagram and Snapchat, before moving them onto Telegram and Discord, where the abuse is broadcast.
Spitze’s sick activities were exposed after a video he posted of his stepfather shooting him in the ear went viral and victims outed him as an abuser.
An AFP spokesperson said intelligence sharing between international and domestic law enforcement partners has enabled them to identify and investigate online users linked to some of these extreme groups online.
In 2022, a 14-year-old from WA was found to have child abuse material and videos of animal cruelty on his phone after targeting victims around the world.
He was charged and received a juvenile caution in relation to the matter.
Police are urging the public who have information about people involved in child abuse to contact the ACCCE. If you know abuse is happening right now or a child is at risk, call triple-0.
For help with emotional difficulties, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or www.lifeline.org.au
For help with depression, contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36 or at www.beyondblue.org.au
The SANE Helpline is 1800 18 SANE (7263) or at www.sane.org
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Originally published as Aussie teen girl to speak at sentencing for sadistic cult ringleader Kyle Spitze