DOJ arrests alleged leaders of child sex abuse network

The Department of Justice on Tuesday said it had arrested two American citizens who led a key subgroup of 764, an international violent network. Leonidas Varagiannis, 21, and Prasan Nepal, 20, allegedly led a subgroup focused on child sexual abuse. The two allegedly recruited others to groom children and created a guide for extracting obscene and degrading content from minors, according to a Department of Justice news release.

The DOJ accuses Varagiannis and Nepal of organizing their network via several encrypted messaging apps. Group members achieved elevated status based on the quality and notoriety of the obscene content they gathered, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The defendants are legally innocent until proven guilty in court.

What did U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi say about the arrests? Bondi said the child abuse network was one of the most heinous enterprises her department had ever encountered. The Department of Justice would prosecute members of 764 and dismantle its operation, she said.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s report on the status of a sexual misconduct investigation into pastor Michael L. Brown.