Leader of extremist '764' network pleads guilty to sexually exploiting children: DOJ

DOJ says Prasan Nepal took advantage of at least eight minors as young as 13.

The leader of the "764" network, which seeks to exploit minors online, pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to sexually exploit minors.

For nearly four years, Prasan Nepal, 21, also known by the online moniker “Trippy,” led the network, which operated as "a nihilistic violent extremist network" and "engaged in a wide range of criminal conduct across the United States and abroad — including coordinated efforts to exploit minors, extort vulnerable victims, and inflict psychological harm as part of an organized ideology promoting chaos and societal destabilization," the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia said in a news release.

Nepal used encrypted apps to exploit minors through "rules," which were needed for the child to join the so-called network, and leaders would force minors "to engage in self-mutilation, online and in-person sexual acts, harm to animals, sexual exploitation of siblings and others, acts of violence, threats of violence, suicide, and murder," according to the news release.

ABC News reported in May that the FBI was conducting 250 investigations across the country tied to 764 and similar networks. In the six months since, the FBI has opened at least 100 more investigations, it said.

Nepal and his co-conspirators used child sexual abuse material to trade with other members of the group, and Nepal took advantage of at least eight minors as young as 13, U.S. Attorney Jeannie Pirro said.

“This case exposes a world where cruelty is currency, violence is entertainment, and children are treated as targets in a game of domination and control,” Pirro said. “What Nepal and his co‑conspirators built was not just a criminal operation, it was a deliberate campaign to corrupt the vulnerable and dismantle the guardrails of civilized society. Today’s plea is a victory for every child they sought to harm, and a warning to anyone who believes they can hide behind an encrypted screen: we will find you, and we will stop you.”

Nepal faces between 15 and 30 years in prison and is expected to be sentenced in May 2027.