Sadism, sexual abuse and self-harm: Inside the online gangs where boys compete to be cruel
Warning: This article contains graphic material and references to suicide
‘My daughter is covered in scars’
For more than a year, Jo* didn’t know her daughter, Mary*, was a victim of the Com (short for Community) – a sadistic network of online gangs that target young girls.
Mary was manipulated into sending self-harm and child sexual abuse content. According to Jo, it took a terrible toll on her daughter who stopped sleeping, became isolated from her friends and lost weight. Her body was also covered in scars.
Jo wants other parents to understand the risks of the Com, which the National Crime Agency describes as, an “unprecedented” threat. Her advice is to “delay access to the internet and use as many parental controls as possible.”
“‘[The Com] prey on vulnerable kids who are easier to manipulate… then start threatening them and demanding more extreme content”, she adds.
Mary would tell her mother she was watching YouTube in the middle of the night when she was communicating with members of the Com. If Jo took her devices away, she would become distressed and “threaten suicide”.
“I was so frightened of her dying that most of the time I chose to believe her,” says Jo.
“She had to be in contact around the clock or suffer the consequences.”
The abuse, which included threats being made to Mary’s family, has now stopped and police are investigating, but Jo is still scared.
“I’m still frightened when her door is closed or when she goes to the bathroom, wondering if she’s going to come back out.”
No single leader
Counter-terrorism, cybercrime and child sexual exploitation units are all involved in tackling the threat posed by the Com.
James Babbage, Director General (Threats) at the NCA
James Babbage, director general of threats at the NCA, describes the Com as a “series of different overlapping networks” without a single leader or ideological figure at the helm.
Com members are “predominantly teenage boys that share sadistic, nihilistic or misogynistic material,” says Babbage. They also engage in cybercrimes such as malware and ransomware attacks and fraud.
The NCA say they are increasingly convicting offenders from these online gangs and have a dedicated response to the threat. It has seen a six-fold increase in reports of Com-related crimes in the last two years.
“The significant thing is how much it’s grown,” says James Babbage. “We’ve seen thousands of users exchanging millions of messages around physical and sexual abuse online.”
Now, the NCA is calling on parents, teachers and medical professionals to help reduce the risk.
“It’s a fast-changing world,” says James Babbage. “But we can have conversations with the children in our lives about how they are experiencing the online world.”
He also has a message for those behind the Com.
“These offenders imagine that they can hide under the radar… [But] the longer they go on operating in this way, the more likely it is we will catch them.
“The internet has a long memory and so do we.”
“Over time, the messages got worse”
Sally’s* daughter was another suspected victim of the Com network.
The mother of a targeted child speaks to Sky News
“There wasn’t any self-harm in the beginning”, she says, describing the messages she discovered on her 12-year-old’s phone.
For more than a year, her daughter secretly exchanged messages with a boy. “It was like they were living a fantasy life through the conversation.”
But gradually, the texts got darker. First, they discussed mental health, and then Sally’s daughter was encouraged to share pictures of self-harm.
“The final thing was asking for nude pictures”.
When Sally finally discovered the messages, she was horrified. Her daughter still struggles to talk about what happened, and Sally believes she is still “suffering some level of trauma and a lot of shame.”
Infiltrating support groups online
The Com is international but has members based in the UK.
In January, teenager Cameron Finnigan from West Sussex was jailed for six years for offences relating to the Com. He was found guilty of possessing a terror manual, indecent images of a child, and encouraging suicide
Sky News has been given exclusive access to the NCA’s investigations into the network, including visual evidence from online conversations monitored by the agency.
Keeley*, is a cybercrime investigator, who was involved in the case of a 14-year-old convicted of offences related to the Com.
The horrific images she saw during that investigation still haunt her dreams.
“For me, it was worse reading chats because you can imagine what’s going on rather than seeing.”
Other tactics the Com use to intimidate their victims include doxxing, where personal info is gathered about a victim, and swatting – used to target mainly US victims – where fake threats are called in to police, provoking armed response units to be sent to their homes.
Keeley* shows us a screen recording of “swatting” taking place against a young girl in the US who refused to take her clothes off on camera.
Roy* is another investigator targeting offenders in the network. He describes members of the Com as mainly teenage males who “lack an offline social life and may even be socially isolated.”
“You see some sharing extreme materials around the incel ideology, animal abuse and torture, child sexual abuse material, but also racist and occultist material,” he says.
Inside The Com
To better understand how The Com operates, Sky News examined a single Telegram account, run by the administrator of a group in which graphic material was shared.
In their bio, they advertise “swatting services” for hire, letting customers pay to have police tricked into raiding homes, schools and religious buildings.
In another exchange, a user discusses self-harm. Sky News found this user was a member of 14 public Com groups on Telegram.
Ten of these groups have been deleted or deactivated by Telegram’s moderators. Four were still accessible. The topics discussed in these groups included self-harm, animal abuse and violence.
Sky News also examined more affiliated chats and channels on Telegram.
These Telegram groups contained discussion of grooming and sexual exploitation, and the sharing of graphic images of people who appeared to be victims.
Members also appeared interested in animal cruelty, with one posting an image of a crucified rat positioned next to the name of a Com subgroup written in blood.
A Com member posts a photograph of a crucified rat accompanied by a subgroup’s name written in blood.
It’s clear from the number of deleted Com groups that Sky News came across that members are adapting to counter the efforts of social media moderators.
A Com chat group on Discord, which at one time had more than a thousand members, has a header image showing people playing the online children’s game Roblox.
Sky News was able to view messages sent by members in another Com group on Discord that had 2,114 members.
It had specific channels for male and female members to post photographs of themselves.
A Com member attempts to get another member of a Discord server to engage in online sexual activity.
In the main chatroom, users encouraged others to send intimate images. Rape and self-harm were frequently joked about.
Messages from a Com Discord server discussing the game Roblox.
Users also frequently discussed Roblox, claiming they were grooming, extorting and engaging in sexual activity with users of the site.
What the social media companies say
When approached for comment, Telegram, Discord and Roblox all told Sky News they took proactive steps to moderate harmful content on their platforms.
Telegram addressed the threat posed by The Com specifically, telling Sky News that it “removed all groups and channels linked to Com when they were discovered in February 2024.”
The company added that it “has continually monitored over the past year to ensure that Com-linked communities cannot reemerge, resulting in the removal of hundreds of groups.”
The only way to tackle this growing threat is to understand it.
“What we are seeing now is that level of hero worship applied to people who are encouraging others to do depraved things and abusing people in really reprehensible ways,” says Dr Joe Ondrak, an expert in online radicalisation.
“When that behaviour is what is garnering hero worship and emulation, that’s where the real risk is.”
“You can quite easily lose your child,” says Sally. What is needed, she says, is a “collaborative effort” involving gaming companies, schools and parents “to make sure our children are safe.”
“Try to have meaningful conversations with your children,” says James Babbage.
“The risk is we think of time spent online as safe time; it’s within the house – how can there be dangers out there? But it isn’t safe at all.”
*Names have been changed
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
The government is facing increasing pressure to formally strip Prince Andrew of his dukedom.
Andrew voluntarily gave up his titles last week but will technically continue to hold them unless they are removed by an Act of Parliament.
Rachael Maskell – the independent MP for York Central – told Sky News that 88% of her constituents don’t want the duke “to carry a title bearing the name of our city”.
On the Politics Hub With Darren McCaffrey, she confirmed she is advocating for a change in the law, and argued mechanisms should be in place to remove titles.
“My legislation would be able to be applied to anybody in the future as well, so we wouldn’t have this situation ever having to occur again,” Ms Maskell added.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘We don’t want him bearing our city’s name’
Meanwhile, the Scottish National Party (SNP) has also warned new legislation must be put forward without “any excuses and any further delay”.
The SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said: “The public knows this is the right thing to do – and even more importantly, the victims at the heart of the Epstein scandal know that it’s the right thing to do.
“Those implicated in the Epstein scandal have been able to escape justice because they have hidden behind their power and privilege.”
A proposed bill has been put forward that would also strip Lord Mandelson of his peerage – weeks after he was sacked as the UK’s ambassador to the US because of his own ties to the paedophile financier.
Yesterday, the prime minister’s official spokesman said the question of legislation was “a matter for the palace in the first instance” – and Downing Street “supports the judgment of the King” regarding what should happen to Prince Andrew’s titles.
Read more:
How Prince Andrew allegations unfolded
What title loss means for Andrew’s family
Prince Andrew during the Garter Ceremony Procession in Windsor. Pic: PA
Accuser’s memoir published today
Pressure has been growing on Andrew amid continued reports of his relationship with Epstein, with the royal “vigorously denying” the allegations against him.
The posthumous memoir of Virginia Giuffre – who had accused him of sexual assault and sued him in August 2021 – is being released today. She took her own life in April.
Amy Wallace, who co-authored Nobody’s Girl, said Ms Giuffre would have regarded Andrew relinquishing his titles as a “victory”.
She told BBC Newsnight: “Virginia wanted all the men who she’d been trafficked to against her will to be held to account and this is just one of the men but … even though he continues to deny it, his life is being eroded because of his past behaviour as it should be.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Claims Andrew ‘tried to dig up dirt’ on accuser
The new memoir alleges that Andrew asked a royal close protection officer to “dig up dirt” on Ms Giuffre in 2021.
A Buckingham Palace source told Sky’s royal correspondent Rhiannon Mills these claims are “being viewed with very serious and grave concern” – and “should be investigated in the proper and fullest ways”.
‘Police gaslit my sister’
Meanwhile, Ms Giuffre’s brother and sister-in-law have urged the Independent Office for Police Conduct to review the Met’s decision not to continue its investigations into the allegations she made against Prince Andrew.
Sky and Amanda Roberts told Channel 4 News that Ms Giuffre had been “gaslit” by detectives – as well as British and American authorities – in what amounted to a “kick in the stomach” for her.
In other developments, questions have been raised about whether Andrew should have the right to continue living at the Royal Lodge in Windsor.
Details of the financial arrangements surrounding his 30-bedroom mansion have come to light.
A copy of the leasehold agreement obtained by the PA news agency shows he signed a 75-year lease on the property in 2003 at a cost of £1m.
Since then, he has paid “one peppercorn” of rent “if demanded” per year, a term used to describe a small payment that makes a contract legally binding.
What started as a WhatsApp group for dozens of grieving families has ended up gathering enough momentum to reach Westminster.
Warning: This article contains content you may find distressing.
The parents and relatives of loved ones who have taken their own life following domestic abuse are angry, at a loss, but up for a fight.
Sharon Holland is among those furious at how difficult it is to hold a potential perpetrator accountable for their loved ones’ deaths.
Sharon Holland (L), whose daughter Chloe died by suicide
Her daughter, Chloe, died by suicide in 2023 after being in a controlling relationship.
Chloe, 23, suffered months of torment at the hands of her former partner. At the time of his conviction, police said Chloe was a victim of a “horrific campaign of coercive and controlling behaviour”.
Two years on, Ms Holland has shared experiences and developed bonds with families who have been through the same trauma.
But charges and convictions for those potentially responsible are rare. That’s despite figures from the Domestic Homicide Project, funded by the Home Office and led by the National Police Chiefs’ Council, showing more domestic abuse victims take their own lives in England and Wales than are killed by their partner.
There were 1,012 domestic abuse-related deaths in England and Wales between 2020 and 2024, of which 354 were suspected suicides compared to 332 homicides.
Sharon Holland said her group ‘don’t want this happening to someone else’
Families at ‘breaking point’
Ms Holland’s group are now calling for “justice for all victims of domestic abuse-related suicides” by bringing their campaign to Westminster today.
Asked if this is a movement born out of families being at breaking point, Ms Holland said: “Absolutely.
“All of us mums or sisters all feel the same, that we don’t want this happening to someone else. It’s being dragged out for years and during that time the mums are becoming more and more ill, their health is going downhill, they’re stressed out all the time, on alert, and they just can’t get anywhere with it.
“There’s so many warnings with the police or with the NHS with various agencies that this could not end well for their daughters, and unfortunately it takes the person to die, and then we find out what the failings are.”
Families who believe there has been foul play, or know the abuse their loved ones suffered at the hands of an intimate partner contributed to them taking their own lives, say it’s difficult to be taken seriously.
“The majority of them have been fighting for five years,” Ms Holland said. “They’ve been waiting for the police to get back to them or waiting for the CPS to charge.
“One lady has just waited five years, only to finally hear back from the CPS only to find out they’re not going to charge.
“So that poor woman’s health has gone downhill, fighting for her daughter, who she suspects was a staged suicide and got nowhere.”
Pragna Patel said famillies ‘are entirely on their own’
‘Heartbreaking’ for families
Families are often fending for themselves, according to Pragna Patel, co-founder of Project Resist, a charity that supports people affected by domestic abuse and violence.
She said families “are having to navigate the system entirely on their own as they try to find out the circumstances in which their loved ones took their lives and to find out how and why this happened”.
“It’s really heartbreaking to see these families knocking at the doors of the police, knocking at the door of coroners, saying: ‘We know these deaths are suspicious, we know there is a history of coercive and controlling behaviour and domestic abuse behind these deaths, and we want you to investigate.’
“On the whole, families are met with a culture of indifference, apathy and ignorance. They’re just not getting the attention they need.”
‘We must do more,’ says minister
Ms Holland and a host of other families will gather in parliament later to meet safeguarding minister Jess Phillips.
Ahead of the meeting, Ms Phillips told Sky News: “Every death linked to domestic abuse is a tragedy. We must do more to prevent them, and I will be meeting Project Resist to discuss how we can hold perpetrators to account more effectively.
“We are funding the Domestic Homicide Project to capture information on domestic abuse related deaths, including suicides, from all 43 police forces in England and Wales to improve our understanding of this issue.
“But more needs to be done. Our upcoming Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy will set out our plans to strengthen our response to all domestic abuse related deaths.”
Jess Phillips
Sky News understands there are a number of active cases being pursued by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Part of prosecutors’ assessment of a case includes developing an understanding of the relationship history between the victim and a potential suspect and trying to understand the victim’s state of mind before their death.
But they are relying on evidence and witness statements that need to be taken in a timely manner.
They say they are raising awareness through tailored training about the links between domestic abuse and suicide, so officers are better equipped to exercise “professional curiosity”.
Ahead of the campaign’s launch, a spokesperson for the CPS said: “Domestic abuse is a heinous crime and our prosecutors are actively advised to consider murder and manslaughter charges in suicide cases where there is a known context of domestic abuse or other controlling or coercive behaviour.
“We have previously charged a number of defendants for causing the death of a partner they abused, including in proceedings which are currently active.
“We are also working with police and other stakeholders to ensure these kinds of offences are well-understood – so that we can bring perpetrators to justice for the full extent of their crimes.”
‘You cannot move forward’
Families so far have had to rely on the inquest to scrutinise the circumstances of their loved one’s death.
Chloe died two years ago and hers is yet to happen.
Ms Holland: “The way all this drags out, you cannot sit down, move forward and just grieve. You’re constantly on high alert, fighting everyone, and just hoping that it’ll be over soon.”
A delay for answers and further delay for grief.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
UK
Louvre robbery: ‘Matter of time’ before thieves struck, expert says – and UK museums could be next
A prominent expert in recovering stolen works of art has told Sky News it was “a matter of time” before the Louvre was targeted – and UK museums could be next.
Christopher Marinello says gangs have been emboldened to strike because “law enforcement has been driven into the ground”.
And while headlines have focused on thieves making off with priceless jewellery from an iconic French institution, he warns this problem isn’t confined to Paris.
He said: “There are gangs operating all over Europe and not enough is being done to stop them … this was only a matter of time, they’ve been hitting small museums.
“If they can hit the Louvre successfully, they can hit anything. Do you know how many museums there are in the UK?”
Christopher Marinello investigates art theft the police aren’t pursuing
At the start of October, at the St Fagans National Museum of History in Wales, it took just four minutes for audacious thieves to swipe irreplaceable Bronze Age jewellery.
He says gangs are targeting gold “just to melt it down” and diamonds for their value – “with no regard for the integrity of the artworks and the cultural heritage that they are destroying”.
A spokesperson for the museum has said: “We sympathise deeply with our friends at the Louvre … it emphasises the increased risk to organisations like ours … this highlights the dilemma we face between having items on display for people to enjoy and learn from – or keeping them locked away.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Louvre: How ‘heist of the century’ unfolded
Mr Marinello, who investigates art crimes that the police aren’t pursuing, says institutions and stately homes urgently need to wake up to what’s happening.
“They need to start building vaults for these objects because otherwise they’re going to be taken and melted down and used to buy Lamborghinis or drugs,” he warned.
“If the smaller museums can’t afford it, perhaps they’re going to have to consolidate collections to museums that can handle it.”
Read more:
Staff ‘repeatedly warned about security shortcomings’
‘Race against time’ to recover ‘priceless’ jewels
Empress Eugenie’s tiara was among the jewellery stolen. Pic: Louvre
‘You can’t trust anyone’
Mr Marinello went on to warn that gangs are becoming “more brazen” – with the Louvre targeted despite the security measures it had in place.
“The system is not working … the penalties are not strong enough … police are frustrated, prosecutors say the same thing because there’s nowhere to put these people.”
The art recovery expert says he’s concerned how funding cutbacks are making our museums more vulnerable to those who recognise that the obvious rewards outweigh the risks.
The Louvre is one of the most famous landmarks in Paris
“These museums are designed to preserve and protect our cultural heritage, and they need to be properly funded to do that job,” he added. “They need to be able to stay one step ahead of the criminals.”
“This is not the 1950s any more, you can’t trust anyone. These items are so valuable, and gold is at an all-time high.
“[Thieves] don’t care if an item belonged to Napoleon III, it means nothing to them. All they care about is quick cash.”
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024