Cybercrime investigators in Baden-Württemberg have arrested a 19-year-old man from the Tuttlingen district on suspicion of operating and participating in an online sadist group associated with the so-called COM network. The Cybercrime Center of Baden-Württemberg and Konstanz police said officers detained him on Monday morning under an arrest warrant. He has been placed in pretrial detention.
According to investigators, the suspect and other participants allegedly used streaming services to push a child and, in a separate case, a teenage girl toward suicide. Both victims reportedly engaged in life-threatening acts. Prosecutors accuse the man of two counts of attempted murder. The teenage victim is believed to be abroad, while the child has not yet been identified.
Authorities also allege that the suspect pressured three other girls, aged between 12 and 15, to harm themselves. In another case, he allegedly persuaded a 13-year-old girl from Germany to send nude images. Investigators searched five properties at the same time as the arrest and seized electronic evidence.
Authorities say members of the worldwide 764 or COM network deliberately look for psychologically vulnerable children and teenagers on gaming platforms and social media. Victims are allegedly manipulated and placed under increasing pressure to injure themselves or perform sexual acts in front of cameras.
The network has also been linked by authorities to a young man known online as “White Tiger,” who has been on trial in Hamburg since January on charges including murder and attempted murder. He is likewise accused of pressuring teenagers to harm themselves, including actions that allegedly led toward suicide.
In October, investigators in Hamburg arrested another suspected online abuser after a 14-year-old girl in the United States died by suicide. Prosecutors said the suspect, who was 17 at the time, had contacted the girl through a social network, encouraged self-harm and requested video recordings of it.
Sources: Der Spiegel.