The Online Group Known as 764 Is Responsible for Truly Horrific Crimes That Haunt Law Enforcement

The internet can be a terrifying place regardless of one's age, but children are frequently victimized in a space that has varying degrees of regulation. According to the Child Crime Prevention & Safety Center, there are an estimated 500,000 online predators active each day, and 50 percent of online sexual exploitation victims are between the ages of 12 and 15.

"Right now, I would say the digital threat is the biggest threat to children," Detective Sergeant Christopher Camm of the Regional Computer Forensic Lab in Trenton, N.J., told ABC 7. Det. Camm's lab is responsible for downloading data from a victim's or suspect's digital devices. He frequently sees things that haunt him forever. The 764 is a perfect example of a digital threat that is preying on children. Who are they? Here's what we know.

The FBI is tracking a network of individuals calling themselves the 764, after the first three digits of zip codes in Stephenville, Texas, where they originated. Federal officials say the group befriends teenagers via various online platforms, then coerces them into "escalating sexual and violent behavior — pushing victims to create graphic pornography, harm family pets, cut themselves with sharp objects, or even die by suicide," per ABC News.

FBI Assistant Director David Scott, the head of the FBI's Counterterrorism Division, told the outlet that they've seen "a lot of bad things, but this is one of the most disturbing things we're seeing." As if the criminal activities weren't bad enough, some 764 members convince these kids to document what they are doing. The photos and videos are then passed around the 764 network in order to extort their victims for more. On occasion, 764 predators host "watch parties."

As of May 2025, the FBI has over 250 active investigations in every single field office across the United States. Scott told ABC News some of the victims are as young as 9, and they believe there could be thousands more across the globe. There have been 15 arrests made in connection with the 764. Those individuals were charged with child pornography or weapons-related crimes.

In February 2025, 25-year-old Jairo Tinajero pleaded guilty in the Western District of Kentucky to racketeering conspiracy, online enticement, three counts of production of child sexual abuse material, three counts of distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), five counts of interstate communications of threats, cyberstalking, and conspiracy to murder Jane Doe 1 in aid of racketeering.

Doe was a 14-year-old girl he was planning to kill after she resisted his demands. Tinajero told authorities he believed murdering the young girl would raise his stature within the 764 network. In a separate federal case from March 2025, Jack Rocker, 19, of Tampa, was sentenced to 84 months in a federal prison for possessing CSAM. According to court filings, Rocker was a member of 764 who "organized his digital content into folders," reported ABC News. Some of his victims carved his moniker into their bodies.

Followers of the 764 network engage in similar online behavior and often share this disturbing content with each other and their victims. "They want to desensitize these young people so that nothing really disturbs them anymore," explained Scott. The 764 network was reportedly launched in 2021 by then-15-year-old Bradley Cadenhead along with Prasan Nepal, who was 16 at the time. Cadenhead is serving an 80-year prison sentence in Texas, while Nepal has yet to be arraigned.