LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — A new investigative series on ABC is set to unveil the chilling operations of a network known as 764, a group of online predators targeting teenagers to produce child pornography and inflict harm.
With over 250 open investigations linked to this network, the series aims to shed light on the disturbing details behind these crimes.
Pierre Thomas, ABC News Chief Justice correspondent, said, “It’s now a major priority with the FBI. It’s literally something that’s involving a national security threat, and simultaneously a threat that’s reaching into local communities and in the local into local families.”
One highlighted case involves a teenage girl from Connecticut who was manipulated by an overseas individual connected to 764. The FBI reported that the girl was coerced into providing pornography and conspiring to gather information about her community, leading to specific bomb threats against schools.
Law enforcement officials have warned that online predators blackmailing teens are among the greatest threats to children. The network, 764, is described as a group of loosely affiliated individuals aiming to sow chaos and manipulate young people into harmful actions.
Thomas explained, “One of the sinister things about 764 allegedly, is that the way you move up in stature within the network, if you will, is what can you convince your subject to do? What horrible thing can you convince them to do?”
It also highlights a case from Russellville, Arkansas, illustrating the network’s reach into local communities. Thomas noted, “The one common denominator that we see over and over again is this network trying to convince young people to do things that are harmful to themselves and to their future.”
The series, airing tomorrow, serves as a public service warning from the FBI to parents and families.
Thomas emphasized the importance of parental engagement, saying, “Parents have got to continuously be engaged with their children, have a sense of who they’re communicating with, and also look for any changes in behavior in your child that you find striking.”
With the involvement of every FBI field office and recent charges against senior members of 764, the series underscores the gravity of the threat posed by this network.