BERLIN – German police acting on an FBI tip-off arrested an alleged online sadist accused of driving a 14-year-old US girl to hang herself, prosecutors said on Oct 23.
The suspect was linked to an online group called “Nefarious Maniac Kult” or “NMK” – part of a global network known by the labels “764“ or “COM” – the Hamburg public prosecutor’s office said.
The case echoes others in a dark online subculture where predators manipulate, exploit and extort young victims – a category of crime that has been labelled nihilistic violent extremism.
The 18-year-old German was arrested in Hamburg on Oct 22, accused of being the indirect perpetrator of murder and grievous bodily harm.
Between September and October, the suspect, then aged 17, allegedly “exerted influence” via the social network Discord over the girl from Indiana state whom prosecutors described as “psychologically fragile”.
The suspect allegedly pressured the girl to cut herself and write the letters “NMK” on a wall in her own blood, and had her send him video recordings of these acts.
A few days later, she hanged herself in her bedroom, prosecutors said.
The suspect allegedly sought a video recording of her death, hoping to gain status within the group or to secure entry into it.
The investigation was prompted in part by information from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, prosecutors said.
The case echoes that of a young German-Iranian man known as “White Tiger” who is accused of multiple sadistic online crimes including coercing a 13-year-old to take their own life.
The trial of that man, partially named as Shahriar J, began in a juvenile court in Hamburg in January.
Earlier on Oct 23, German federal prosecutors requested that an alleged member of the “NMK” network who is 17 and who was arrested a year ago be sent to trial.
He is accused of at least 14 cases of inciting adolescents – both male and female, aged 12 to 16, and living in Australia, Canada, Sweden and the United States – to engage in sexual acts or self-mutilation. AFP