'Greggy's Cult': Five cult members charged with online child pornography and exploitation
"No child should ever be terrorized or exploited online, and no online platform should give refuge to predators," Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
Department of Justice
The Department of Justice reported that a Brooklyn federal court filed an indictment against an online cult it charges with child exploitation, conspiracy to produce child pornography, conspiracy to receive and distribute child pornography and conspiracy to communicate interstate threats.
The defendants were identified as Hector Bermudez, Zachary Dosch, Rumaldo Valdez, David Brilhante and Camden Rodriguez. According to authorities, the defendants led an online group called "The Cult of Greggy," whose members carried out the alleged criminal conduct on various Discord servers.
In addition, the Department of Justice (DOJ) noted that the five defendants allegedly forced minors to share videos where they subjected themselves to brutal sexual abuse, while inciting self-harm and suicide.
"No child should ever be terrorized or exploited online, and no online platform should give refuge to predators (...) The Department of Justice will continue to protect children, support survivors, and hold accountable anyone who preys on the vulnerable – online or offline – with every tool we have", said Attorney General Pam Bondi.
"They tormented these victims with the images"
"As alleged, the defendants leveraged a popular internet platform to coerce minors into creating grotesque child pornography of themselves, which the defendants distributed, and then tormented these victims with the images, not only encouraging self-harm, but also encouraging some minors to commit suicide," explained U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella.
In that regard, the DOJ asserted that between January 2020 and January 2021, the defendants participated in the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material and engaged in other forms of exploitation and harassment of both minor and adult victims. The defendants video-conferenced with minor victims and directed them to engage in sexually explicit conduct.
The indictment specified that the arrestees, allegedly, captured images and videos and shared them to other Discord servers and among themselves.
The platforms on which they found their victims
"'Greggy’s Cult' also engaged in coordinated extortions of adult and minor victims through various means, including by attempting to frame adult victims as pedophiles or by sending malware to minor victims’ computers and refusing to return their access until victims complied with the group’s demands," the department highlighted.
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