Police arrest man accused of pressuring US teen to kill himself online
German authorities have arrested a 20-year-old man suspected of a disturbing online campaign of child abuse, which included allegedly coercing a 13-year-old American boy to kill himself on livestream.
The German-Iranian national was taken into custody on Tuesday at his parents' apartment in Hamburg. He faces suspicion of engaging in an online campaign of cybergrooming and virtual sexual abuse of children. His name has not been released in line with German privacy regulations.
Prosecutors have yet to decide whether to bring formal charges. He denied wrongdoing in a closed-doors appearance before a judge, authorities said.
'The acts exceed human imagination,' Hamburg Attorney General Jörg Fröhlich said at a news conference Wednesday, German news agency dpa reported.
The man is accused of perpetrating a complex international cybergrooming operation as a member of '764,' which the FBI describes as a violent online network that exploits minors virtually to coerce them into acts of self-harm and sexual abuse.
The man is suspected of committing 120 crimes against eight victims, ages 11 to 15, who were from Germany, England, Canada and the U.S. Another of the victims, a 14-year-old Canadian girl, attempted to take her own life. Authorities have not released the names of any of the alleged victims.
In the case of the 13-year-old American boy, German police and prosecutors said the suspect used another underaged victim to pressure the teen.
The violations occurred over the internet between 2021, when the suspect was 16 years old, and 2023, police said.
Through his online pseudonym, 'White Tiger," he preyed on desperate children in online forums, including those discussing suicide, dpa reported. Investigators believe he exploited their vulnerabilities, forcing them to create pornographic and violent recordings.
'These are depths that are difficult to bear,' Hamburg police chief Falk Schnabel said during the news conference.
The man made recordings of the acts to keep as trophies, investigators said, and used them as leverage against the victims by threatening to publish them unless the children committed even more self-harm on camera.
Police said Wednesday they want publicity about the case to help prevent future online abuse.
'We hope that word of the arrest will spread within the community and that this will act as an internal deterrent,' Fröhlich said.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
28 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Strangulation in pornography to be made illegal
Pornography depicting any act of strangulation is to be made illegal as part of government efforts to combat an 'epidemic' of sexual violence against women and girls. The move was recommended in a review for the Government by Baroness Bertin, a Conservative peer, who found that porn had effectively established choking as a 'sexual norm'. She said that a belief had taken root that choking a partner during sex was 'safe' because it was not fatal, despite overwhelming evidence that there was no safe way to strangle a person. The Government has already introduced a specific offence for abusers who strangle their partners, with perpetrators facing jail sentences of up to five years. Alex Davies-Jones, the justice minister, said: 'Depicting strangulation during sex is not only dangerous, but also degrading, with real-life consequences for women. 'Cracking down on the appalling rise of strangulation pornography will protect women and send a clear signal to men and boys that misogyny will not be tolerated.' Lady Bertin, who was commissioned to carry out the review by Rishi Sunak, also recommended that harmful online porn that would be illegal on the high street should be banned. The review, published on Thursday, found that violent, harmful and misogynistic porn was common on mainstream platforms. However, the material would be judged as illegal and refused classification by the British Board of Film Classification if it was sold in shops on the high street, according to Lady Bertin's review. It comes ahead of new legally enforced rules requiring websites that host pornographic or other harmful content to have 'robust' age verification in place for UK users by July at the latest. Methods to be required include open banking, photo ID matching, facial age estimation, credit card checks, digital ID services and email-based age estimation. 'No such thing as safe strangulation' Andrea Simon, the director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), said: ' We welcome the Government's decision to criminalise the depiction of strangulation in pornography, a move that reflects years of campaigning by EVAW and other experts who have long warned about the normalisation of violence against women and girls in online content. 'There is no such thing as safe strangulation; women cannot consent to the long-term harm it can cause, including impaired cognitive functioning and memory. Its widespread portrayal in porn is fuelling dangerous behaviours, particularly among young people. 'This is a vital step towards recognising the role violent pornography plays in shaping attitudes to women and regulating an industry which promotes and profits from violence against women. The UK's flagship Online Safety Act must now be updated to ensure online platforms are made to remove this content.'
Daily Mail
34 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Sir Philip Green, 73, displays his slimmed down frame as he soaks up the sun at the Hotel Eden Roc in France
Sir Philip Green displayed his noticeably slimmed down frame as he soaked up the sun at the Hotel Eden Roc on the French Riviera on Wednesday. The Topshop founder, 73, cut a casual figure in a white T-shirt and a pair of blue patterned shorts as he enjoyed a day at the beach. The businessman looked relaxed and carefree as he enjoyed the trappings of his still vast fortune. Philip was seen alongside Elliot Grange, the CEO of Atlantic Music Group and the husband of Lionel Richie 's daughter Sophia. Sir Philip and his wife Tina have been laid low in Monaco after the collapse of Arcadia Group, which fell into administration in 2020 at the cost of more than 700 jobs and 162 store closures, plus a £500million-plus pension scheme deficit. One of his last appearances was in October 2021, when he was seen snarling at photographers outside Harry's Bar, an exclusive London club. He was understood to have been on a brief visit to Britain, in part to have dental treatment. The mogul was accompanied by Tina, who was named in 2020 in the explosive Pandora Papers about offshore tax havens. The leaked documents appeared to show that she bought four multi-million-pound properties while BHS – the department store she once owned with her husband – teetered on the brink of collapse. Arcadia's assets, including the luxury furnishings of Sir Philip's boardroom, were sold, the Topshop brand was acquired by online retailer Asos, and Ikea moved into the Oxford Street building following its £378 million sale. Arcadia also oversaw the chains Dorothy Perkins, Burton and Miss Selfridge. The Greens previously sold BHS for £1 to former bankrupt Dominic Chappell, who was last year sentenced to six years in jail for tax evasion over the 2015 sale. The chain collapsed the following year, and MPs subsequently dubbed Sir Philip 'the unacceptable face of capitalism' over the affair. Despite the fall of the one-time high street retail king, the Greens are still worth £910 million, according to The Sunday Times Rich List, and continue to enjoy the trappings of their wealth.
BBC News
42 minutes ago
- BBC News
Garden City grandparents accused of toddler murder punched son
The son of a couple accused of murdering their two-year-old grandson said he was was slapped and punched by his parents. Ethan Ives-Griffiths, died from a catastrophic head injury in August toddler's grandparents, Michael Ives, 47, and Kerry Ives, 46, both of Garden City in Flintshire, are charged with murder, causing or allowing the death of a child, and cruelty to a mother, Shannon Ives, 28, of Mold, Flintshire, is charged with causing or allowing the death of a child, and cruelty to a child. All three deny the charges. When prosecutor Caroline Rees asked Josh Ives, son of Michael and Kerry Ives, if physical discipline was ever used, he replied "yeah". When asked if it was his mum or dad, he replied "both".He said they would "squeeze your wrist…. slap on the back of the head"."It could be a slap on the leg, a slap on the bum," he Ives said for a child, it could hurt but would not say it was "excessive". Asked if anything other than squeezing or slapping took place, he said: "Punches now and then", but not often. "It would be to the legs or the arm," he added, saying that he and his three sisters, including Shannon Ives, were Ives said that the punches occurred once a week and said that they had used a belt, but it was said he could not remember which parent used the belt and it "was just on the bum from what I remember".Asked how often the belt was used, he said: "Probably once or twice the whole time."The physical discipline stopped when he was aged between 10 and 12, and he started confronting them and telling them to moved out of the Ives' home several months before Ethan died in trial continues.
