You were just one of the group members who abused her, who made her do things that no young person should ever be made to do.” These are the words that came to an Australian mother, Olivia*, as Kyle Spitze was sentenced to 77 years in prison this month in Tennessee – the longest federal sentence yet imposed on what the US government has called a “nihilistic violent extremist”. Spitze, 27, pleaded guilty to abetting the distribution of animal crushing videos and child sexual exploitation material (CSAM) offences, with victims around the world – some who have still not been identified. His lawyer said he plans to appeal the sentence.
The US Department of Justice said Spitze’s crimes occurred as part of his association with an online network known as “764”, known for its sadistic extortion of young and vulnerable people around the world. Olivia told the Guardian the early days after she discovered her child’s abuse by these networks were terrifying. They were apps like Discord, Telegram, Instagram and Snapchat.
At the time, local police did not seem able to assist because the offenders were overseas. Years later, she could not believe it when she heard Spitze had received such a long sentence. In December 2023, the chat platform Discord sent the FBI a 29-page report with a list of accounts it said were involved in “high harm activities”.
The users were, in Discord’s words, engaged in “sextortion, solicitation of minors to perform online sexual acts, self-harm coercion, swatting and conspiring to commit real world acts of violence”. Swatting is when someone calls in a fake threat to provoke an armed police response. One username was “CRIMINALOLI”, prosecutors said.
This was Spitze, then in his early 20s. Earlier that year, others had also sent tips to police alleging he was “grooming minors”. Police found a video on a Telegram channel he ran that showed minor girls exposing their breasts and bodies, with his moniker sometimes “written in blood or carved on their bodies”.
He demanded one girl kill animals on video. If she hesitated, according to the prosecution, he threatened to dox and swat her and her parents. She was 12 when they met online, and thought she was his girlfriend.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
