- Published
Detectives in Scotland have joined international law enforcement in targeting online gangs which groom and coerce children into acts of self-harm.
asserted
which → publish → harm
Officers are hunting members of loose online networks of sadists known as "The Com", which mainly targets girls on gaming platforms and social media.
asserted
which → hunt → platforms
The groups, mostly comprised of teenage and young adult males, have risen in prominence in recent years after cases involving sextortion and hacking, as well as self-harm encouragement.
asserted
groups → comprise → sextortion
The Molly Rose Foundation - a suicide prevention charity helping young people and families victimised by the network - said the groups "represent the gravest risk to children online".
asserted
groups → help → children
Warning: This article contains distressing content
Paul, not his real name, is a detective constable working in Police Scotland's internet investigations unit.
asserted
Paul → contain → unit
In a locked room at the force's Scottish Crime Campus, he is showing the BBC images on a computer sent to the team by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
asserted
he → lock → Agency
Flagged by National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in the United States, the material was eventually passed to Police Scotland and on to Paul's desk.
asserted
material → flag → desk
He now has the job of sifting through horrific images of abuse and injury in order to identify the victim, as well as the Scottish perpetrator.
"Unfortunately, we are getting a lot of self-harm imagery," he tells BBC News.
asserted
he → have → News
"There's nearly a thousand images in this particular case, and we need to go through every single one of those."
asserted
we → be → those
This case is linked to a Com group - a violent collective that uses mainstream social media platforms to manipulate and blackmail girls into harming and abusing themselves.
asserted
that → link → themselves
Often, the police say, this is done by the group for "kudos", or clout, from their peers.
asserted
this → say → peers
On the screen, one image show a young girl's arm covered in blood.
asserted
image → show → blood
Another shows blood used to daub a symbol on to a bathroom wall.
asserted
Another → show → wall
Paul alleges the girl in the case was directed to harm herself by someone she met online - understood to be a young male in Scotland.
asserted
she → allege → Scotland
"Usually, it's a young girl in these particular cases," Craig said.
asserted
Craig → say → cases
"We're finding a lot of vulnerable young girls that are between 11 and 17.
asserted
that → find → girls
"Unfortunately, we discover down the line that there are other vulnerabilities that [perpetrators] are exploiting."
asserted
perpetrators → discover → that
Among the pictures are occult or Satanic sigils, a way for the abusers to appear "as extreme as possible", says Craig.
asserted
Craig → appear → pictures
He continues: "It's very common, but I don't think they believe these Satanic things.
asserted
they → continue → things
"With these particular groups anyway, it's about how extreme, how much exploitation can you inflict on an individual.
asserted
you → inflict → individual
It's about how much control you can get, up to the point that they're getting them to self-harm."
asserted
them → get → point
The Com - short for "the community" - are loosely-affiliated online groups involved in acts of abuse, financial crimes and extremism.
asserted
Com → affiliate → abuse
Groups involved in recent court cases include "The 764" and "CVLT".
asserted
Groups → involve → 764
However, membership and group dynamics shift over time.
asserted
dynamics → shift → time
In May, the NCA said it was investigating around 200 cases involving these networks, while there have been a number of convictions.
uncertain
it → say → convictions
In August, 20-year-old Justin Swaddle was jailed for two years for blackmailing and coercing more than 100 victims into acts of self-harm, including carving his online username on their bodies.
asserted
Swaddle → jail → bodies
Det Ch Insp Craig Faulds - who leads efforts targeting groups' links to Scotland - described the crimes as "an evolution of online child abuse and sexual exploitation".
asserted
who → lead → abuse
He told the BBC that often abusers will target their victims on "innocuous gaming platforms".
asserted
abusers → tell → platforms
He continued: "It can move to social media platforms, messaging services and online forums.
"
asserted
It → continue → platforms
We are seeing cases where perpetrators online are targeting young vulnerable people, usually girls, and they are manipulating them, they are coercing them into sharing indecent images of themselves.
asserted
they → see → themselves
"Some of the more serious cases are seen by coercing individuals to cause acts of serious self-harm.
asserted
Some → see → harm
We have identified victims and perpetrators in Scotland.
asserted
We → identify → Scotland
And we are at the stage of mapping this threat to understand significance and the prevalence of it."
asserted
we → map → it
Hazel Stewart, who works for the NCA's Threat Leadership team, described the prevalence of Com groups are "low-volume, high-harm", adding: "The scale doesn't matter, it is the harm that is being caused."
She told the BBC that the abusers themselves are often young males who have been socially isolated or bullied.
asserted
who → work → BBC
"They find their own identity online, they can be whoever they want to be," she said.
asserted
she → find → whoever
"And therefore they are encouraging those that are vulnerable, usually young females... seeking them out, say, on suicidal ideation sites or eating disorder sites, and encourage them into more private spaces."
asserted
that → encourage → spaces
Stewart explained that abusers form relationships with victims and "be very supportive at first" before encouraging them to carry out harmful acts.
asserted
abusers → explain → acts
Or it might be harm to a pet, or a sibling," she said.
uncertain
she → say → pet
"That harm will escalate and the grooming and manipulation continues, and the victim is in a situation where they can't escape."
asserted
they → escalate → situation
Stewart described the threat as a "global problem" and said the UK was working with law enforcement in the USA, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, as well as Interpol and Europol.
asserted
UK → describe → USA
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
