{"id":58341,"date":"2025-01-30T18:45:32","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T02:45:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=58341"},"modified":"2025-01-30T18:45:32","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T02:45:32","slug":"four-online-neo-nazi-members-charged-with-producing-child-sexual-abuse-material","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=58341","title":{"rendered":"Four Online Neo-Nazi Members Charged with Producing Child Sexual Abuse Material"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Two men were arrested Thursdauy on federal charges of participating in a neo-Nazi child exploitation enterprise that groomed and then coerced minors to produce child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and images of self-harm, officials stated.<\/span><\/p>\n

The group allegedly victimized at least 16 minors around the world, including two in Southern California.<\/span><\/p>\n

Collin John Thomas Walker, 23, of Bridgeton, New Jersey, and Clint Jordan Lopaka Nahooikaika Borge, 41, of Pahoa, Hawaii, were arrested Thursday to a grand jury indictment that charges them with one count of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"WestThe indictment charges two other defendants who are already in custody: Rohan Sandeep Rane, 28, of Antibes, France, and Kaleb Christopher Merritt, 24, of Spring, Texas. <\/span><\/p>\n

The indictment, which was returned by a grand jury on Jan. 17 and unsealed Thursday, also charges Rane and Walker with one count of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise.<\/span><\/p>\n

“The defendants here are alleged to have committed horrific acts against children,\u201d said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph T. McNally. \u201cThere is nothing more important than protecting our youth. Our office will continue its effort to aggressively prosecute and incarcerate dangerous predators.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

“Sextortion and other forms of online child sexual abuse have tragically altered the trajectory of too many young lives and this group preyed upon the vulnerable to fulfill their sick and twisted desires,\u201d said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles Special Agent in Charge Eddy Wang. \u201cHSI and our partners will work tirelessly to protect children from victimization in communities across the United States and around the globe.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"According to the indictment, from at least 2019 to 2022, Rane, Walker, Merritt, and Borge were members of CVLT (pronounced \u201ccult\u201d), an online group that espoused neo-Nazism, nihilism, and pedophilia as its core principles. <\/span><\/p>\n

Members of the international enterprise engaged in online child sexual exploitation offenses and trafficked CSAM. Rane, Walker, and Merritt acted as leaders and administrators in the CVLT enterprise, hosting and running CVLT online servers and controlling membership for the group.<\/span><\/p>\n

CVLT members worked collectively to entice and coerce children to self-produce CSAM on a platform run by CVLT members, where they groomed children for the eventual production of CSAM through various means of degradation, including exposing the victims to extremist and violent content. <\/span><\/p>\n

CVLT specifically targeted vulnerable victims, including ones suffering from mental health challenges or a history of sexual abuse, the indictment stated.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Victims were encouraged to engage in increasingly dehumanizing acts, including cutting and eating their own hair, drinking their urine, punching themselves, calling themselves racial slurs, and using razor blades to carve CVLT members\u2019 names into their skin. <\/span><\/p>\n

CVLT members\u2019 coercion escalated to pressuring victims to kill themselves on a video livestream.<\/span><\/p>\n

When victims hesitated, resisted, or threatened to tell parents or authorities, CVLT members would threaten to distribute already-obtained compromising photos and videos of the victims to their family and friends. <\/span><\/p>\n

For victims who stopped participating in the CSAM, CVLT would sometimes carry through on their threats.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rane previously was charged with several child exploitation and related offenses in France and has been in French custody since 2022. Merritt is currently in Virginia state custody, serving a 50-year sentence for child sex abuse crimes committed in 2020 and 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n

If convicted, the defendants would face a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence and a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison.<\/span><\/p>\n

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Los Angeles Police Department, San Bernardino County Sheriff\u2019s Office, Henry County Sheriff\u2019s Office (Virginia), Iowa State University Police, Police Nationale (France), the National Crime Agency (United Kingdom), the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs, and EUROPOL are investigating this matter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Assistant U.S. Attorney Catharine A. Richmond of the Violent and Organized Crime Section, and Trial Attorneys Justin Sher and James Donnelly of the National Security Division\u2019s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting this case.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES\u00a0 Two men were arrested Thursdauy on federal charges of participating in a neo-Nazi child exploitation enterprise that groomed and then coerced minors to produce child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":58093,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nFour Online Neo-Nazi Members Charged with Producing Child Sexual Abuse Material<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"LOS ANGELES\u00a0 Two men were arrested Thursdauy on federal charges of participating in a neo-Nazi child exploitation enterprise that groomed and then coerced\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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