Man in Germany accused of murder, child abuse tied to predatory online group

German authorities arrested a man in Hamburg on Tuesday and accused him of orchestrating a campaign of online abuse that allegedly coerced a 13-year-old American boy into killing himself while on a live-stream video. Prosecutors said the man was a “relevant member” of 764, a global online community that preyed viciously on children.

Hamburg public prosecutors said the 20-year-old man, whose name they did not disclose, is “strongly suspected” of having committed more than 120 crimes between 2021 and 2023, “particularly those directed against life, physical integrity, and sexual self-determination … to the detriment of a total of eight child or adolescent victims.”

He was arrested at his home in Hamburg, in northern Germany, based on a tip from the FBI, which has arrested senior members of 764 and said that the group meets the definition of a terrorist organization.

The group’s name comes from the postal code of the teenager who created it in 2021. Assistant FBI Director David Scott, the head of the counterterrorism division, said in an interview with ABC last month that the FBI is conducting more than 250 investigations linked to the 764 network, with its 55 field offices nationwide each handling at least one related case.

Read more: Washington Post