TAMPA, Fla — There’s the dark web and then there’s a space so evil and perverse, its content has shaken veteran agents from the domestic terrorism squad of the FBI.
“I’ve been doing this for almost 20 years, and this is some of the worst stuff that I’ve seen in my career,” explained Supervisory Special Agent Michelle Nicolet from the Tampa field office.
Nicolet and Special Agent Steven Thames recently sat down with Investigative Reporter Katie LaGrone to talk about “764,” a shadowy criminal online global network that targets kids.
Watch full report from Katie Lagrone
According to the FBI, members of this network will befriend kids on social media and popular gaming platforms to then groom them into collecting and sharing child pornography. Once they build trust, 764 members will demand that kids produce their own, often violent and sexual content. If they don’t, victims can face threats and extortion.
“We've seen children carve terrible things into their own skin, and we've even seen children go so far as to commit suicide while live streaming. There's truly no end to what these monsters will have our children do if they're able to get to them,” warns Nicolet.
Watch Special Agent Nicolet explain the 764 threat
“764” has become so much of a threat in the United States that the FBI tells LaGrone they’re working cases tied to the sadistic network in all 55 of its field offices nationwide, including Florida.
Last year, a bomb threat was called into the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office.
In the 9-1-1 call, the caller claims, “I am going to blow you up.”
The threat turned out to be a hoax. However, investigators traced the call to an 18-year-old in Kentucky who was a member of 764.
This year, 19-year-old Jack Rocker of South Tampa, was sentenced to seven years in federal prison after agents found more than 8,300 images and videos on his computer of children, including toddlers and infants, being raped and tortured.
Special Agent Thames, who worked the case, said Rocker became immersed in 764 when he was a minor.
“He was a normal kid. He went to high school here locally, he took part in activities, he had a job, he had friends,” explained Thames.
But behind closed doors, court records show, Rocker was obsessed with collecting and sharing images and videos of children being sexually abused.
A document included as evidence in his federal court file shows a screenshot of some of the chilling files he labeled and organized on his computer.
The file names included “animal porn,” “child-gore,” “murder,” “rape” and “suicide.”
Agents told us Rocker shared the images and videos as part of his membership with the network “764.”
“They're willing to do anything, they're willing to harm anyone,” explained Agent Nicolet.
When asked if Rocker was a perpetrator or a victim of 764, Agent Thames responded,
“I would say he's a perpetrator, but he's also a victim to the group as well too.”
“I think the Rocker case underscores broader trends in the 764 network,” explains Austin Doctor, Director of Strategic Initiatives at the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education Center (NCITE).
“This is a terrorist network that has largely been led by minors and by young adults. So, as a standard practice, network members not only groom and victimized minors, they're also systematically recruiting them into their ranks,” Doctor explained.
In Rocker’s case, Special Agent Nicolet said Rocker had gained ranking in 764 because of the amount of material he possessed and shared.
“He was someone who had a level of status that allowed him to manipulate and influence more people than others,” she said.
“764” isn’t so much about money, but power and dominance to sow chaos in society, agents said.
WATCH: The FBI issued this warning to parents
In December, Rocker pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.
He’ll spend the next seven years in federal prison after playing a role in what the FBI calls one of the biggest threats to kids today that uses innocence for evil.
“They are willing to go after small victims to collapse society. That's what they're about,” said Agent Thames.
“It's a little nerve-wracking.”
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