Four men who an indictment says espouse neo-Nazi beliefs have been charged with child exploitation regarding 16 children — including two in San Bernardino County — prompting some to create child pornography or other images showing them harming themselves, the U. Department of Justice said on Thursday, Jan. CVLT targeted victims who may be vulnerable, such as those suffering from mental-health problems or from a history of sexual abuse, the DOJ said. CVLT members pressured victims to kill themselves on a video live stream, the release said.
CVLT members exposed children to extremist and violent content, including women being raped and animals being tortured to death, the federal agency said. When victims resisted or threatened to tell parents or authorities, CVLT members would threaten to — and in some instances did — distribute compromising photos and videos of the victims to their family and friends.
The indictment also charges two men already in custody with one count of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise: Rohan Sandeep Rane, 28, of Antibes, France and Kaleb Christopher Merritt, 24, of Spring, Texas. Rane previously was charged with several child exploitation and related offenses in France and has been in French custody since Merritt is in custody in Virginia, serving a year sentence for child sex abuse crimes committed in and If convicted as charged, the defendants would face in this case a minimum of 20 years in prison to life in prison.
By Brian Rokos brokos scng. More in Courts.
