5 men charged in ‘Greggy’s Cult’ Discord child exploitation conspiracy case

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday charged five individuals from across the United States with running an online “child exploitation enterprise” called “Greggy’s Cult,” which allegedly used Discord servers to terrorize, blackmail, and coerce minors into “horrifying acts of self-harm.”

The indictment announced by federal prosecutors charges five people with “conspiracy to produce child pornography, conspiracy to receive and distribute child pornography, and conspiracy to transmit interstate threats.”

Hector Bermudez, 29, of Queens, New York; Zachary Dosch, 26, of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Rumaldo Valdez, 22, of Honolulu, Hawaii; David Brilhante, 28, of San Diego, California; and Camden Rodriguez, 22, of Longmont, Colorado, were arrested Tuesday and will be arraigned in the Eastern District of New York at a later date, according to the Department of Justice.

Describing a “nightmarish platform on the Internet,” prosecutors alleged that the “Greggy Cult” engaged in “depraved behavior,” including “repeatedly encouraging victims to kill themselves or encouraging them to insert household objects into their genitals or anuses.”

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“These five defendants allegedly targeted vulnerable children and others through online platforms, exploiting, threatening and harassing them, and encouraging horrific acts of self-harm,” FBI director Kash Patel said in a statement. he said. “The FBI is sending a message to those who engage in criminal activity through violent online networks: you cannot hide in the shadows hovering over the keyboard; we will find and hold accountable those who participate in these illegal and heinous acts.”

The indictment alleged that the defendants engaged in “production and distribution of child sexual abuse materials” between January 2020 and January 2021, and also participated in other forms of “abuse and harassment” against both minors and adults.

According to prosecutors, the defendants and other members of “Greggy’s Cult” met on Discord servers and “directed underage victims participating in a video call on Discord or another video conferencing platform to engage in sexually explicit or other degrading conduct.”

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U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi, left, and FBI director Kash Patel announced Dec. 2 that five men have been charged with directing a “child exploitation enterprise.” (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The group is also accused of recruiting victims on gaming platforms such as Roblox and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

Cult members allegedly captured screenshots and screen recordings of “sexually explicit conduct” before sharing them with other Discord servers and each other, according to the Department of Justice.

Reacting to the indictment, Attorney General Pam Bondi said, “No child should be terrorized or exploited online, and no online platform should be a haven for predators.”

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Leaders of “Greggy’s Cult” met on Discord servers and directed minors to “engage in sexually explicit or other degrading conduct,” prosecutors said. (Tiffany Hagler-Geard/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“The Department of Justice will continue to protect children, support survivors, and hold accountable anyone who preys on the vulnerable online or offline with every tool we have,” Bondi added.

Prosecutors also accused the defendants of extorting their targets, claiming they tried to frame adult victims as pedophiles or send malware to minor victims, which was then used as “a tool to encourage victims to commit degrading acts on camera.”

The defendants were allegedly able to persuade victims to commit “humiliating” acts, which prosecutors called “fan signing,” including being “owned” by a cult member or having cult members’ names written on their bodies to demonstrate their loyalty.

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FBI director Kash Patel said the bureau will hold accountable anyone involved in violent online networks. (Getty Images)

Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said in a statement that the defendants were accused of “an unspeakable act of blackmailing and coercing children and adults into self-harming and other degrading acts.”

Joseph Nocella Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, called the alleged behavior “monstrous” and added that the children were “at times driven to the brink of suicide.”

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The Justice Department alleged that the five men captured screenshots and screen recordings of “sexually charged conduct” before sharing them with other Discord servers and each other. (FOX 2Detroit)

The Justice Department said “Greggy’s Cult” formed before the emergence of the “764” network, another online child exploitation group that the FBI had launched a massive effort to take down.

Members of “764” allegedly use popular online platforms such as Discord, Telegram, and Roblox to recruit and manipulate minors.