Violent Extremist Network “764” Member Pleads Guilty to Sexually Exploiting Minors and Cyberstalking

Baltimore, Maryland - A member of a violent extremist network pled guilty to child sex abuse charges in federal court today, stemming from a November 2025 arrest.

Erik Lee Madison, 20, of Halethorpe, Maryland, pled guilty to the sexual exploitation of a child and cyberstalking. Madison sexually exploited at least 10 minor female victims.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty plea with Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) - Baltimore Field Office; Chief Amal E. Awad, Anne Arundel County Police Department (AACOPD); and Chief Robert McCullough, Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD).

According to court documents, from November 2024 until November 2025, Madison, a member and associate of "764," a criminal organization of Nihilistic Violent Extremists, used the internet to create and share extreme content - such as gore, violence, and child pornography - to extort and blackmail vulnerable teenagers. Madison used the internet to sexually exploit minor females and encourage them to engage in self-harm. The minor female victims were from various locations inside and outside of the United States.

Madison used the internet to cause minor females to produce or stream sexually explicit conduct, cut themselves with razors, and cut signs and words on their bodies. Additionally, Madison coerced the female minor victims into using their blood to write various signs, along with Madison's monikers, on a wall and then they streamed it to Madison. He also encouraged the victims to injure animals.

Then Madison extorted the victims through a variety of methods, including threatening to harm them and their families, "leak" or disseminate depictions of the victims engaging in cutting and sexually explicit conduct, "dox" the victims and their family members, and threatening to "swat" victims and their family members.'

Members of "764" use known online social media communications platforms as mediums to support the possession, production, and sharing of extreme gore media and child sex abuse material with vulnerable, juvenile populations. These individuals often conduct coordinated extortions of teenagers, blackmailing the victims to comply with the group's demands.

Madison faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for sexual exploitation of a minor. He also faces a mandatory maximum sentence of 10 for cyberstalking. Sentencing is set for Tuesday, June 16, at 11:30 a.m.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney's Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit justice.gov/psc and click on the "Resources" tab on the left of the page.

The Justice Department remains vigilant against the threat of Nihilistic Violent Extremist (NVE) networks, like 764, that operate within the United States and around the globe. NVEs often target vulnerable individuals, including minors, using social media platforms to share child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and gore material, and groom victims toward committing acts of violence. Victims are often extorted, coerced, compelled, and blackmailed into complying with NVE demands, including 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. For more information on how to protect children and others, read about the online risks here: Parents, Caregivers, Teachers - FBI and the FBI's March 2025 public service announcement.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI, AACOPD, and BCPD for their work in the investigation.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit justice.gov/usao-md.

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