Two of multiple victims identified in sadistic Com member’s database
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The authorities found thousands of chats, photos, and videos on the data carriers of a Hoofddorp man who was allegedly part of the sadistic Com movement. These reveal that 23-year-old Mert A. forced multiple victims to harm themselves. The authorities have so far been able to identify two of them, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said in the first hearing against the man in the court of Rotterdam on Monday, NOS reports.
A. was arrested in October. The OM suspects him of being active in a sadistic online movement known as “The Com” or “The Community” for years. The movement consists of a collection of groups that distribute extremely violent images and encourage young people to harm themselves, commit violence, or take their own lives. Some splinter groups are considered terrorist groups.
The Hoofddorp man was allegedly active in the 764 group, a group recently tied to the attempted suicide of at least five Dutch girls.
According to the OM, A. forced his victims to carve his online username into their bodies or write it in blood on the walls and floor, and send him footage of them doing so. He allegedly threatened to publish nude images of the victims if they refused to cooperate.
The police are still busy analyzing the extensive amount of footage found on A. “The suspect has spun a complex web of various accounts, chat groups, and usernames,” the prosecutor said in court on Monday. It will take time to determine exactly how many victims are involved and to identify them.
In court, A. denied being responsible for the photos and videos found. He claimed that unknown people took his username. He did acknowledge being active on various channels and distributing “gross and gruesome” material.
“I didn’t do it for myself, but to gain trust in a certain environment,” A. said in court. According to the man, he worked his way into the Com environment so he could expose abuses.
The OM does not believe this version of events and considers A. a key player in the Telegram and Discord groups.
A.’s lawyer, Jill Leyten, said that it remains to be proven that A. forced the victims to harm themselves and that they didn’t do so voluntarily. “The chats must show, for example, that threats of violence were made.” But according to the prosecutor, there is more than enough indication of coercion.
It is not yet clear what charges A. will face. The Netherlands has no specific legal provision for this type of online crime.
The court remanded him into custody until his next hearing.
