LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – Richard Anthony Reyna Densmore, 47, of Kaleva, will spend 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of a child, a charge in a broader indictment that accused him of other crimes against child exploitation. member of 764, an international group that focuses on vulnerable children online.
Densmore is among the first people associated with 764 to face legal consequences for their actions.
“These groups, of which 764 is one, have a political ideology. They often operate based on an effort to increase their status among members, to increase their profile,” said Mark Totten, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan. “Of course there is the element of sadism that we have seen in this case.”
According to the US Department of Justice, 764 is a “terror network” of violent individuals around the world who seek to “normalize” child pornography and gory media to “desensitize and corrupt youth to future acts of violence.” Members of 764 systematically target, groom and extort children through online social media platforms, demanding that these victims share media depicting self-harm, sexual acts, animal harm, acts of violence, suicide and murder, perpetuating a continuing cycle of suicide and murder. abuse.
These media, the US Department of Justice says, are designed to “accelerate chaos and disrupt society and world order,” including the US government.
Densmore, known online as ‘Rabid’, created a community on the online social platform Discord called ‘Sewer’, where members – often by infiltrating online gaming sites frequented by children – recruited children to harm themselves and engaging in explicit sexual acts.
He would grow the community’s membership by going to other Discord servers and advertising livestreams of children harming themselves (“cutscenes”) or participating in explicit sexual activities (“on cam”), and creating multiple separate communities to “bypass detection” if the platform would ‘keep shutting them down’.
Densmore also promoted its use of the Telegram platform, reportedly saying in the Discord community that “you can get away with more” on Telegram.
Court documents show that Densmore, a military veteran who was unemployed and living primarily on government assistance at the time, “considered victimization, exploitation and desensitization as his calling.” He described himself as “callous” and was fully committed to 764 to “gain notoriety within a network of individuals seeking to destabilize society, cause social unrest and hasten the demise of the world order.”
Densmore allegedly used this material to threaten victims into participating, possessing child pornography and carving gory images of ‘Rabid’, ‘Sewer’ and ‘764’ into the victims’ limbs, known as ‘fansigns’ called, in some cases with razor blades and box cutters. near.
Here are some examples from Densmore’s Discord history:
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Densmore tells a Discord user who refused to cut: “That’s what you’re doing now… Don’t make daddy mad. I will blackmail you… I have all your information. I own you…you do what I say now, kitten.”
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Densmore asks a Discord user to carve “Rabid” into his body. When the user replied, “No, I don’t like crop marks… I have too many names on my legs,” Densmore replied, “Very rabid.”
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Writing about children, Densmore says, “I gaslight and let them screw up. Then they follow me… We have a girl who cuts her *ss off on cam. They also kill their pets. Most will do anything for power.” When a Discord user told him there was no reason to abuse people, he said, “They’re begging for it.”
Court documents show that Densmore’s phones, which were seized during the initial investigation, “contained some of the most gruesome images and videos that the undersigned counsel had the misfortune to see.”
Densmore himself is also guilty of direct grooming and exploitation of minors.
Court documents mention this happening several times in the history of Denmore’s Discord. A 12-year-old Discord user once asked Densmore, “Are you trying to groom me?” and Densmore responded, “What do you think?” and asked the child for virtual sex. In another instance, Denmore asked another Discord user to “help him take care of this little girl.”
In October 2022, Densmore tried unsuccessfully to convince a minor to send him an explicit photo with “Rabid” written on her bare chest and when she expressed her discomfort, she contacted another Discord user and bought Nitro for him – a Discord membership – to help obtain a sexually explicit photo of the girl.
As a result, the girl sent Densmore and the Discord user a nude video of herself with “Rabid” written on her chest.
Court documents show Densmore believes he was just “trolling” and that his victims were “not affected.” He will spend the next thirty years in federal prison.
Attorney Christopher Gibbons did not immediately return a message seeking comment after the sentencing. In a court filing, he said Densmore, an Army veteran, openly admitted his wrongdoing.
U.S. Attorney Mark Totten says parents and guardians need to understand and monitor their children’s online activities. They should also look for unexpected packages, as members of these abuse and extortion networks are known to send razor blades, sexual devices, gifts and other materials to children for use in creating online content. The FBI further advises the public to take precautions, including:
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Looking for new cuts, bruises, wounds and scars in unusual patterns;
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Looking for sudden changes in behavior and appearance;
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Be alert to children wearing long sleeves or pants in unusual circumstances;
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Monitoring children’s online activities and discussing the risks of sharing information
contents; And -
Regularly searching online for family and child information to help identify and
prevent personal information from being spread over the internet
If you are concerned about someone who may be self-harming or at risk of suicide, consult a health care professional or call 911 in the event of an imminent threat.
See Densmore’s full sentencing memorandum below:
71-Govt-Sent-MemDownload
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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