Swedish teenager jailed over 10 years for online attempted murder and rape of victims in Germany and Australia
An 18-year-old Swede known as Chai has been sentenced to more than 10 years for attempted murder, rape and assault committed online. Victims include a teenager in Australia and a young person in Germany.
Swedish teenager convicted of attempted murder and rape carried out via the internet
A Swedish teenager known as Chai has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for attempted murder, rape and aggravated assault — offences committed entirely via the internet, with victims in Germany and Australia, according to the Guardian.
The district court found that Chai, now 18, was active in online networks notorious for the sadistic extortion of young and vulnerable people. Those networks coerce victims into creating sexually explicit material or performing acts of violence. The offences were committed when Chai was between 15 and 17 years old.
Chai was convicted of two counts of attempted murder against a young person in Germany, along with multiple sexual and violent offences against a teenage girl in Australia, amongst other charges.
Jenny Östling, a senior public prosecutor at Sweden's national unit against international and organised crime, said the court had clearly understood the phenomenon of what authorities describe as "nihilistic violent extremism" and the so-called Com — an umbrella term for a loosely connected online network engaged in cybercrime, extortion and violence.
"I'm really glad that they realise how serious this is and what it is," Östling said.
She noted that the sentence was amongst the longest possible in Sweden for someone of Chai's age. The court also established a significant legal principle: that a person can be convicted of violent offences even when those offences were carried out remotely via the internet.
"That is a very important tool for us when we proceed with these kinds of cases," Östling said.
Crimes that cross borders
The crimes committed within sadistic extortion networks — including one known globally as "764" — frequently cross national borders, with cases recorded in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia, and alleged victims spread across multiple jurisdictions.
Lawyers and researchers told the Guardian, as part of its investigation into these groups, that material is often created and traded amongst participants to build status and control, as well as to gain access to closed servers and chatrooms.
"These are young people recruiting other young people," said Bjørn Ihler, founder of the security firm Revontulet. "It is a youth phenomenon."
Chai's case is one of several that have resulted in significant prison terms for young men found to be involved in this ecosystem. Amongst them is American Kyle Spitze, 27, who was sentenced in August to 77 years in prison — the longest federal sentence yet imposed on someone the US government has labelled a "nihilistic violent extremist."
Psychiatric examination and defence response
During the trial, Chai underwent a forensic psychiatric examination. The examination concluded he was not suffering from a serious mental disorder at the time the offences were committed.
His lawyer, Emily Tovedal, contested the verdict. "The defence's view is that the court has made an error of judgement regarding a large proportion of the charges," she told the Guardian.
Authorities internationally have raised increasing alarm about the sadistic online exploitation of young people, warning of potential signs including self-harm and social isolation.
Östling acknowledged the networks are unlikely to diminish. "Sadly, I'm confident that they will probably grow," she said. "And we will also be aware of more of them, because now we know what to look for."
Source: Google News IE — Crime (en)