Sadistic online harm groups putting people at ‘unprecedented risk’, warns NCA

Graeme Biggar is calling on everyone – from law enforcement, to parents and carers, education professionals, and industry – to play their part in reducing the risk from “sadistic and violent online gangs”.

The warning comes as the NCA launches its National Strategic Assessment, an annual report that outlines the serious and organised crime threats facing the UK.

These online forums or communities – referred to in the Assessment as “Com networks” – see offenders collaborate or compete to cause harm across a broad spectrum of criminality – both on and offline – including cyber, fraud, extremism, serious violence, and child sexual abuse.

Known reports of this emerging threat increased six-fold in the UK from 2022-2024. NCA analysts estimate that thousands of users – offenders and victims – based in the UK and other western countries have exchanged millions of messages online relating to sexual and physical abuse.

Although adults are involved in these online communities, of particular concern is that offenders are predominantly teenage boys that often share sadistic and misogynistic material, and have been seen to target those their own age or younger, the NCA says.

Offenders include a new generation of young, English-speaking cyber criminals who work together to execute data breaches and commit fraud, launch malware or ransomware attacks, and use social engineering and grooming techniques on victims.

The NCA and UK law enforcement have identified a number of cases in which girls, some as young as 11, have been coerced into seriously harming or sexually abusing themselves, siblings or pets.

In some instances, victims have been groomed into offending themselves.

Mr Biggar said: “This is a hugely complex and deeply concerning phenomenon. Young people are being drawn into these sadistic and violent online gangs where they are collaborating at scale to inflict, or incite others to commit, serious harm.

“These groups are not lurking on the dark web, they exist in the same online world and platforms young people use on a daily basis. It is especially concerning to see the impact this is having on young girls who are often groomed into hurting themselves and in some cases, even encouraged to attempt suicide.

“The NCA is coordinating UK law enforcement’s response to this emerging threat. We are collaborating with policing, tech companies, safeguarding agencies and psychologists to better understand how young people become offenders and safeguard victims.

“Operating online clearly makes these offenders feel protected and out of reach but that is absolutely not the case. There have already been convictions, we and partners have made arrests in the UK and overseas, and further investigations are ongoing.

“I’d encourage parents and carers to have regular conversations with their child about what they do online, and ensure they know they have your support should they need it.”

The NCA says the online landscape of these networks is vast, with many groups having a different focus such as cybercrime or inflicting physical harm. However, membership is loose and fluid which leads to the range of different criminality being committed by individual offenders.

Last month following an NCA investigation, Richard Ehiemere was convicted of fraud and indecent images of children offences, committed when he was just 17 and linked to a prolific online harms group.

In January, 19-year-old Cameron Finnigan was jailed for assisting suicide, possession of indecent images of children, a terror offence, and criminal damage, following an investigation by Counter Terror Policing South East (CTPSE).

Evidence suggests that offenders are motivated by gaining notoriety and status, which can be achieved based on the harm they inflict and the depravity of the content they share. These networks share content relating to a broad and diverse range of extreme belief systems that they use to justify violence.

Sexual gratification can also be a motivating factor and in some cases, offenders are finding opportunities to profit from their criminality directly, or by selling material to others. The NCA is engaging with experts and academics to improve our understanding of motivations of offenders in this area and what can be done to deter them.

Also common across networks is the use of coercion and extortion tactics. Offenders manipulate victims by grooming them, or convincing them that they are in a relationship. As with other types of grooming, this leads to victims not recognising themselves as such, or being too scared to come forward, which likely contributes to the underreporting of this offending.

Assistant Chief Constable Alastair Simpson, national policing lead for child sexual exploitation and abuse and undercover online, said: “The growth of Com networks that incite and encourage children and vulnerable adults towards acts of self-harm, suicide and violence are hugely concerning.

“The role of undercover online officers is vital in this space, and my message to anyone who is exploiting children online: remember that there is no space where criminals operate that we cannot go, and investigations into these networks have already begun.

“Policing will always play its part, but social media providers have a clear role to play in monitoring and regulating their platforms to root out this abhorrent criminal behaviour and make all online spaces safe for children and adults.

“I would encourage anyone who has been a victim of this type of crime to report it to police, you will be met with empathy and respect, and there are organisations that can support you.”

Jess Phillips, Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, said: “The scale of child sexual abuse in this report is absolutely horrific and drives home the need for a coordinated response to tackle this global issue.

“We have seen the heartbreaking impact of crimes such as grooming and sextortion on victims around the world – many of them children who have been blackmailed and manipulated into sharing images of themselves, which has devastatingly led to some children taking their own lives.

“This is why this government is using every lever at our disposal to make the UK a safer place for children online, including implementation of the Online Safety Act which has some of the strongest laws in the world to protect children.

“My message to parents is to have open conversations with your children and to seek support if you are concerned about child sexual abuse.

“My message to tech companies is simple: this is your responsibility too. You must ensure your platforms are safe for children, so that we can protect the most vulnerable and put predators behind bars.”

The NCA says children and young people are better protected when they have adults around them who they feel they can trust, talk to and will not be blamed by.

“Regular, open and honest conversations create environments where young people can disclose concerns,” it added.