Warning: Distressing content
A Swedish teenager has been jailed for a decade after remotely coercing an Australian girl into self-harm, sexually exploiting her, and torturing her family’s pet cat as part of an international extremist network.
Kevin Johansson, now 18, was sentenced this month to 10 years and six months in prison by Umeå District Court after being convicted of a string of offences committed when he was aged between 15 and 17.
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They included six counts of rape, attempted murder in two cases, aiding and abetting attempted murder and three counts of aggravated assault.
But among the most disturbing allegations detailed in the Swedish court documents was the abuse of an Australian girl who, at the time, was 15.
Mr Johansson, who operated online under aliases including “Chai” and “Norah Slimey”, was linked to a nihilistic and violent extremist international network called ‘764’.
According to the court judgment, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald and Swedish outlet Expressen, Johansson manipulated the Australian teenager into sending him sexual material before using it to blackmail and control her.
He allegedly demanded she strangle her family’s cat while filming the act and forced her to engage in self-mutilation.
After she refused his demand to kill the animal, Johansson allegedly made a false report to Australian authorities claiming her father possessed firearms and planned to shoot his family.
The fabricated report, known as “swatting”, prompted an almost immediate response from heavily armed tactical police.
The court found Johansson had systematically used the internet to remotely control young people and encourage acts of violence, sexual exploitation and self-harm.
He was also convicted over his involvement in attacks involving teenagers in Sweden and Germany.
Swedish prosecutors alleged he controlled a boy under 15 in real time during two knife attacks in Hässelby in 2024.
He was also accused of manipulating a German man into self-harm so severe he nearly died.
Some of the violent attacks were filmed and distributed online, with Johansson allegedly helping edit and spread footage.
The crimes were committed remotely, with investigators tracing the teenager through multiple online aliases.
Johansson was arrested in his classroom at a high school in Umeå in April last year and had remained in custody throughout the investigation.
He denied the current charges, reportedly describing the allegations against him as “surprising” and calling 764 “stupid” and “ridiculous”.
He was acquitted of some charges, including three counts of aggravated assault and three counts of incitement to suicide.
Australian authorities have previously warned that young people can be targeted through platforms including Roblox, Discord and Telegram before being coerced into increasingly extreme acts.
Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Sandra Booth said members of these networks could gain status by producing or sharing increasingly disturbing material.
In response to the growing threat of online sexual exploitation and abusive extremism, the Albanese Labor Government released draft legislation earlier this month establishing a statutory Digital Duty of Care.
Minister for Communications Anika Wells said the proposed reforms aim to require platforms to take proactive steps to prevent, detect, and disrupt content like child sexual exploitation and abuse material on their platforms and smart devices.
Advocacy groups like the International Justice Mission (IJM) have welcomed the proposed bill, while critics have said it amounts to an attack on free speech.
The draft framework also proposes increasing maximum civil penalties for noncompliance up to $109.2 million, the proposed bill will require the backing of either The Coaltion or Greens in order to pass.
AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett launched Taskforce Pompilid last year amid concerns about the networks’ targeting of Australian children.
The Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation has received 176 reports since January last year relating to what authorities describe as sadistic online exploitation.
Police have also identified alleged Australian members of the networks, while an investigation continues into an Australian offender accused of coercing an overseas child into physically harming a younger sibling.
The US has also pursued members of the 764 network.
Last month, 27-year-old Kyle William Spitze was sentenced to 77 years in prison after pleading guilty to offences including producing child sexual abuse material and abetting the distribution of animal-crushing videos.
US authorities said Spitze had used threats and extortion to force vulnerable minors to produce images of self-harm and sexual abuse.
The US Department of Justice described the sentence as the longest federal sentence imposed on a nihilistic violent extremist.
Australian authorities have warned that the international and constantly shifting nature of the networks makes them particularly difficult to dismantle.
Assistant Commissioner Booth said children could become both victims and offenders.
“The reality is with this insidious crime type, children are being harmed in what we hope would be their safe place – in their homes, with their families nearby,” she said.
“In many cases, by the time law enforcement becomes aware of this activity, significant financial, physical or psychological harm has already occurred.”