Alleged leaders of child exploitation cult known as 764 arrested, charged

Warning: This story contains references to suicide, sexual abuse, violence, graphic material and language that may be upsetting to some readers.

Two men have been arrested and charged with running an international child exploitation enterprise known as 764 which targets vulnerable minors online and coerces them to self-harm, make child sexual abuse material of themselves and participate in violent acts — including animal abuse and even suicide.

Prasan Nepal, 20, who police say used the moniker "Trippy" in the 764 network, was arrested in North Carolina. Leonidas Varagiannis, a 21-year-old U.S. citizen, known as "War" was arrested in Greece, according to police. 

They allegedly led a core subgroup called 764 Inferno that operated using encrypted messaging platforms. Police say the men exploited at least eight minors, some as young as 13 years old.

"The information in the criminal complaint is sickening," said an online investigator named Becca who tracks 764 and shares what she learns with law enforcement. For her safety, we are only using her first name. 

CBC's The Fifth Estate first investigated 764 and its related groups last year, and has since discovered victims around the world, including one in Red Deer, Alta., named Trinity. 

Trinity, whose identity CBC has agreed to protect for her safety, first reported her allegations of exploitation by 764 members to RCMP in July 2021 but did not hear from them again until last year after the FBI asked to meet with her.

During the meeting with both law enforcement teams in May 2024, she provided officers with a list of names of 764 perpetrators who she says exploited her through Discord and Telegram. 

One of the names on that list was Trippy.

Neither she nor her mother wanted to comment on the arrests saying they are trying to move past their ordeal.

• Watch the full documentary, "Trapped: The Online Terror Network," from The Fifth Estate on YouTube.

The Fifth Estate also interviewed a Canadian father whose 15-year-old daughter recently killed herself after being exploited by other members of 764 for at least two years. 

The CBC is not naming him to protect his daughter's identity and for his own safety. The father says he continues to be harassed by people he suspects are part of the network.

News of the arrests "gives me hope," he said, adding that awareness, especially for parents and authorities, is critical. He says he missed the early signs of his daughter's exploitation, including self-harm.

"That's the part that I hate," he said, "It was happening right in front of me and I didn't recognize it."

Since its investigations into 764, The Fifth Estate has spoken with another parent who says her teenage daughter was victimized by 764 members for two years. The parent also says her daughter had contact with Varagiannis online. CBC has not independently verified that claim.  

She also asked to not be named for her family's privacy and safety. 

She says she hopes the arrests will diminish the network's access to other victims. 

"I also hope that this will send a warning to other members, or prospective members, that it's only a matter of time before their violent, predatory actions catch up with them and they're forced to face justice of their own.'

Investigating the alleged top leaders

According to an affidavit and criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Nepal had been involved in 764 since its inception in 2020. He emerged as its leader in August 2021 after the founder, Bradley Cadenhead, was arrested by the FBI. 

Cadenhead created 764 in 2020 at the age of 15 and named the group after his area code in Stephenville, Texas. He is serving an 80-year sentence for pleading guilty to possession with intent to promote child pornography in 2023.

Varagiannis is believed to have joined in December 2023 and became a co-leader of 764 Inferno, which was reserved solely for the inner core members of 764 and was by invitation only.

Nepal and Varagiannis had strict rules for joining 764, according to police. Potential members had to produce and share content that often included child sexual abuse material and images of victims self harming.  

"These defendants are accused of orchestrating one of the most heinous online child exploitation enterprises we have ever encountered," said U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi in a media release Wednesday.

Nepal and Varagiannis, along with two others, allegedly created a guide that gave prospective members instructions on how to create "content" by targeting vulnerable "e-girls," who struggled with mental illness.

According to the affidavit, on May 27, 2024, Nepal posted step-by-step instructions in a chat on how to groom a victim.

"Go to Reddit … or Twitter," he typed. "[Find a] self-harm community and speak with a girl like it's a normal friend" and "then seduce her with how much you love how she cuts." 

That content included sexually exploitative material and images of underage girls who had been coerced to cut the names of group members into their skin, according to police.

Members reportedly compiled these images and videos into what they called "lorebooks" that were considered valuable currency within the group, often used to gain notoriety for 764 and to recruit more members.

Expert says arrests are 'majorly significant'

Becca calls the arrests "majorly significant" and says the fact the two are charged with running a global criminal network, and not individual child pornography charges, speaks to how seriously police are taking the threat. 

"They're working to get these guys charged with heavier crimes and sentences." 

Becca says Nepal's arrest is especially important because he was not only the self-proclaimed leader of 764, he was its most active member who created new Telegram and Discord channels to keep the group going when other accounts were banned by the platforms they were operating on.

764 has several offshoots, she adds, but in the course of her research she says she's found  a single predator can have dozens, even hundreds of victims. 

"The impact is huge because of all the kids who could potentially be saved because of one person no longer being on the internet."

Becca says Nepal's arrest has also caused panic in 764 chatrooms as authorities continue to crack down on the network. "That's really good news. We want them running on the backfoot."

The father who spoke to The Fifth Estate about his daughter's victimization by 764 says he contacted police more than a year before his daughter took her life and says he initially felt dismissed by authorities. 

He says he is planning to channel his grief toward advocacy and is calling for social media platforms to do more to protect children online.

"I'm still in shock about it," he said. "Our institutions are moving slowly against something that is moving very quickly."

764 posed threat of escalating violence

The Fifth Estate has spoken to several experts and law enforcement officials who say police are now more aware of the threat. They say 764 stands out for its level of violence and for the age of its members, many of whom are minors themselves.

In Canada, extremism researchers say there are likely perpetrators across the country and thousands of potential victims. 

The group also poses an escalating threat worldwide as it forges alliances with other violent online groups that promote mass killings and targeted attacks. 

Other violent acts have been linked to 764, including a school shooting earlier this year in Nashville, stabbings last fall in Sweden and the murder of an elderly woman in Romania in 2022. 

Police have also foiled deadly plots tied to the groups in the U.K. and the United States in recent months. In Italy, police arrested a member last month who they say was in the advanced stages of a plan to kill vulnerable people.

The RCMP's counterterrorism unit is leading 764 investigations in Canada and issued a national public warning about the group last August. Police here have arrested at least two members of 764. 

In response to The Fifth Estate's request for comment on the latest arrests and whether there are Canadian victims linked to the accused, in an email the RCMP says it works closely with its international partners and does not comment on ongoing or potential investigations and investigations conducted by other countries. 

It added: "Safeguarding Canadians from ideologically motivated violent extremism, such as that perpetrated by 764, remains a priority for the RCMP." 

As for Nepal and Varagiannis, if convicted, the charge of operating a child exploitation enterprise carries a minimum sentence of 20 years and a maximum of life in prison.

If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to look for help:

• Canada's Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988.

• Canadian Mental Health Association's crisis line: 1-833-456-4566. In Quebec: 1-866-277-3553. You can also text 45645.

• Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868. Text 686868. Live chat counselling on the website.

• Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention: Find a 24-hour crisis centre.

• This guide from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health outlines how to talk about suicide with someone you're worried about.

If you or someone you know is being exploited, you can report it to Canada's national tipline for online sexual exploitation of children: 

• cybertip.ca or call 1-866-658-9022

If you believe someone is in immediate danger, please call 9-1-1.