Middle Tenn. man indicted on child sexual exploitation charges linked to extremist group

A Columbia, Tennessee man is facing federal child sexual exploitation charges after an FBI investigation tied him to a violent extremist network known as “764.”

Zachary Sweeney, 30, was indicted on multiple counts Thursday in Nashville. Court documents show he has a long history of exploiting minors and connections to Nihilistic Violent Extremist, or NVE, groups.

“Violent extremists who victimize vulnerable children online are among the worst predators in our community and across the country,” United States Attorney Braden H. Boucek said. “Our office and our law enforcement partners will do whatever it takes to stop these predators from harming more children and hold them accountable for the damage they have already caused.”

According to court documents, Sweeney groomed and coerced minors into producing child sexual abuse material between at least 2022 and 2025. He allegedly distributed and sold that material, and traveled to meet victims in person, where he is accused of drugging, raping, and filming them.

One victim reported she first encountered Sweeney when she was 16 or 17. She told investigators he pressured her into sending sexual images and videos, and directed her to physically harm herself as part of his demands. She also participated in online group calls where she and others performed degrading acts while being recorded. That victim later died of an overdose. A separate witness told investigators Sweeney had live streamed a sexual assault of her.

Read more: WTVF