Extremist ‘764’ leader Prasan Nepal pleads guilty in US federal court

A 21-year-old North Carolina man, identified as a leader of the international extremist network 764, pleaded guilty in a US federal court to conspiring to sexually exploit children. Prosecutors said the group used encrypted platforms to recruit members, manipulate minors, and distribute abusive material across multiple countries.

Washington: A 21-year-old man accused of leading an international online extremist network that sexually exploited children has pleaded guilty in a US federal court, admitting his role in a conspiracy that targeted vulnerable minors across the United States and other countries.

Prasan Nepal, also known online as “Trippy,” pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to commit sexual exploitation of a child before US District Judge Reggie B. Walton in Washington.

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Nepal, a resident of High Point, North Carolina, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in federal prison, the Justice Department said.

His sentencing is scheduled for March 5, 2027.

Federal prosecutors said Nepal was a senior leader of 764, a violent extremist network that used encrypted messaging platforms to recruit members, exploit children and distribute abusive material.

The network operated across national borders and maintained a subgroup known as 764 Inferno.

According to court documents, Nepal and co-defendant Leonidas Varagiannis, who used the online name “War,” helped direct the group’s operations, recruitment, and internal rules.

From approximately 2021 through 2025, the network used encrypted platforms to coordinate the exploitation of minors, including through threats, manipulation, and extortion.

Prosecutors said the group targeted vulnerable children and pressured them into producing sexually exploitative and violent material.

Investigators identified at least eight minor victims across multiple jurisdictions, including children as young as 13.

The Justice Department said Nepal and other leaders maintained strict control over membership and encouraged participants to produce increasingly abusive material.

“This is the latest victory in the FBI’s work with partners to dismantle the violent 764 network,” FBI Director Kash Patel said.

Patel said the investigation was part of a broader effort to identify and prosecute individuals involved in online child exploitation.

He said arrests connected to 764 had increased by nearly 500 per cent last year through cooperation between the FBI and state and local law enforcement agencies.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said Nepal had used his leadership position to coordinate the exploitation of children.

“He directed unspeakable crimes and then treated the suffering of the group’s victims as currency to be traded among his co-conspirators,” Eisenberg said.

US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro for the District of Columbia said the case demonstrated how online extremist networks could exploit vulnerable children through organised systems of coercion.

Federal investigators said the network included participants operating in the Washington metropolitan area and other parts of the United States.

Some members allegedly stored exploitative material on electronic devices, while others participated in online extortion schemes targeting children in multiple jurisdictions.

According to prosecutors, Nepal joined the network around early 2021 and emerged as a leader following another member’s arrest in August that year.

He remained in a leadership position until April 2025, when he was arrested as part of an international investigation.

Varagiannis is being held in Grevena Prison in northern Greece and is expected to face trial there on charges related to child sexual abuse material and participation in a criminal organisation.