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[Music] Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at
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any time you need support, please contact your local crisis center. For suggested phone numbers, for
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confidential support, and for a more detailed list of content warnings, please see the show notes for this
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episode on your app or on our website. This episode features distressing subject matter pertaining to
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the sexual abuse of children and the production of child exploitation content. It will not be suitable for all
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listeners. The names of several witnesses have been changed. From her family's home in the
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quiet, windswept countryside of East Anglia in southern England, 16-year-old Tessa Dorsy posted an ad on the
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classified website, Gumree, wanting to earn some extra money babysitting. It didn't take long before Tessa
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received a response, but her excitement quickly gave way to confusion when she realized the sender wasn't looking to
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hire her to watch any children. Instead, a woman named Liz Candell presented Tessa with a strange
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opportunity. "First off, I fully accept that this offer may not be for everyone,
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so feel free to say no," Liz wrote. But my offer is as follows. I will be interested in receiving from you
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photographs of yourself, either topless or in the nude. Liz admitted that while she
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wouldn't quite call herself an artist, she had a deep passion for drawing, particularly in
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charcoal. Liz said she was searching for inspiration, believing the photographs Tessa could provide would fuel her
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creativity. She encouraged Tessa to adjust the terms of the offer to suit her comfort level,
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such as taking the photos from behind so her face wouldn't be visible. In any case, Liz assured Tessa
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that no one would ever see them. In exchange for the images, Liz promised a generous payment of up to
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£1,200, depending on their quality, quantity, and the poses Tessa was willing to provide.
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The money could be transferred online via PayPal, a bank transfer, or even Amazon gift
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cards. The message ended politely. Thanks for taking the time to read this, Liz. Tessa didn't buy Liz's story for a
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second. She was certain Liz Kandell was the fake identity of a man seeking child
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exploitation material. When Tessa threatened to report Liz, her mask slipped immediately. Her tone turned sharp and
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cruel as she bombarded Tessa with vile, sexually explicit images of other underageed
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girls. Liz warned that the onslaught was merely a gentle start. The message was clear. Comply or
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face the consequences. If Tessa refused, Liz threatened to send the explicit images to Tessa's friends
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and family, telling them that the photographs were of her. Disturbed and frightened, Tessa
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broke down in tears and rushed to tell her mother what was going on. They reported the incident to the local
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authorities, but it seemed nothing was done to stop whoever was behind Liz Candell.
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Months later, frustrated by the lack of police action, Tessa took matters into her own hands. She posted a warning
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about Liz Kandell on her online Facebook page, writing, "This man is a sicko, and
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the police aren't doing anything." Her post gained traction and soon caught the attention of Britain's National
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Crime Agency or the NCA, the country's highest level of law enforcement, which specializes in cyber
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crime. The NCA reached out to Tessa Dorsey and examined the disturbing photos that Liz Kandell had sent her.
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For the first time, Tessa felt as if her voice was being heard, and it gave her a
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sense of empowerment to know she was helping track down a dangerous predator. But the images she had been
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forced to view left a permanent scar on her memory. "Even today, I can't forget those pictures," she later
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admitted. "I don't think I ever will. [Music] Tessa Dorsey's unsettling encounter with
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Liz Kandell was of great concern to the National Crime Agency. For several years, the organization had
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been entrenched in a global investigation into the malicious underbelly of the dark
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web. Unlike the mainstream internet, the dark web cannot be accessed through conventional search engines. It requires
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specialized software that not only anonymizes users, but also encrypts their web traffic, making their
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activities difficult to trace. Beneath this veil of secrecy lies a sprawling network of hidden websites,
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forums, and marketplaces. People who inhabit the dark web often do so to protect their
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privacy, making it especially valuable in regions burdened by censorship or surveillance. It is seen as a haven for
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secure free speech, expression, and the sharing of sensitive information. However, this same anonymity has also
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made it a refuge for criminal activity. Everything from drugs and weapons to stolen identities and hacked
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passwords are bought and sold in this virtual underworld. The original and most notorious of the dark web's illicit
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marketplaces emerged in 2011 under the name Silk Road, as covered in episode 76 of Case File.
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The dark web also facilitates the creation and distribution of illegal pornography. And one particularly
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obscene forum had drawn the scrutiny of law enforcement agencies worldwide. The dark web forum titled
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hurt to the core specialized in a subgenre called hurtcore. A port mento of the words hurt and hardcore.
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Hurtcore is considered one of the most extreme and depraved forms of pornography as it often involves brutal
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violence and bodily harm. Dark web expert and author of the darkest web, Eileen Ormsby described her
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core as a fetish for people who get aroused by the infliction of pain or even torture.
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She emphasized that a key element of hurt is a victim who is not a willing participant. Although adult hercore
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exists, the users who frequented the hurt to the core forum weren't interested in just any violent sexual
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content. Their obsession revolved specifically around children, and the abuse couldn't be simulated or
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role-played. It had to be genuine. As Eileen Orsby explained on her self-titled blog, "The child's pain
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is not a byproduct. It is deliberately inflicted, recorded, and posted for the gratification of hurt
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enthusiasts. Hurt to the core emerged on the dark web in late February 2013, created by a user known only as Lux.
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Like most individuals on the dark web, Lux was an enigmatic figure who relied on anonymity to
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thrive. Although Lux ran multiple forums, wikis, chat rooms, video streaming, and image upload services
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dedicated to pedophilia, hurt to the core was his empire. By far his most popular and active creation. His work
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was so notorious within the dark web that it had even drawn the eye of other resident pedophiles who staunchly
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disavowed his promotion of cruelty and violence against children. Lux had earned the reputation
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as one of the dark web's most hated figures, receiving dozens of death threats each week. But to hercore
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enthusiasts, Lux was king. Lux claimed to be a pediatrician from the United States, but the validity of
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this claim and his true identity remained a mystery. As part of an investigation
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into the dark web, American tech journalist Patrick O'Neal reached out to several members of Hurt to the Core who
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agreed to speak to him through encrypted emails. When Lux caught wind of this, he reached
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out to Patrick directly, offering to be interviewed publicly for the first time. Securing an exclusive one-on-one
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interview with a prominent dark web figurehead was an incredibly rare opportunity, given that they typically
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shunned real life exposure. To Patrick, the allure of interacting with the mysterious and
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influential Lux was tempting, but the decision to do so wasn't easy. Lux was undoubtedly evil, and
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Patrick questioned whether he should give him a public platform at all. Patrick ultimately decided to
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accept Lux's offer, believing it was in the public's interest to do so. The interview was conducted over
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encrypted emails and then published in Kashmir magazine. Lux revealed to Patrick that
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he first entered the dark web in 2011, ironically as part of a targeted campaign against online pedophiles led
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by the activist group Anonymous. titled Operation Darknet. The group aimed to fight for the defenseless,
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believing that no one was more defenseless than a child who was being exploited. Their goal was to shut down
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several prominent child exploitation sites operating on the dark web and expose its users to police.
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Lux first learned about Operation Darknet on 4chan, a website he frequented where anonymous members often
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coordinated their activities. Despite spending countless hours at his computer, Lux had never
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ventured onto the dark web and knew nothing about the illicit sites Anonymous was
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targeting. A mix of morbid curiosity and a desire to join the noble cause drew him in. He downloaded the necessary
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software and logged into the dark web for the first time. Operation Darknet was a decisive
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battle fought from behind computer screens around the world. Whenever Anonymous succeeded in taking down a
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child exploitation site, its owner would inevitably restore it. One site owner sent anonymous a defiant
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message that read, "It is our god-given right that we can choose to have our sexual
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preferences for youth. It is the same for any other porn community. It is not what we choose to become. It is who we
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are. You do not have the right to censor us." Anonymous stated firmly in response,
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quote, "Child pornography is not free speech." Within a month, Operation Darknet had successfully taken down 40
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child exploitation sites. Through carefully orchestrated infiltration, Anonymous had also managed
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to uncover the potential real life identities of several of the sites users. Their effort drew both praise and
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criticism from the public. While many applauded the dismantling of pedophile sanctuaries, others argued that taking
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down illegal websites should be the work of law enforcement, not vigilantes. Critics also pointed out
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that the attacks might have jeopardized ongoing police investigations or compromised crucial evidence needed for
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prosecution. In the end, Anonymous's success was short-lived. The authorities couldn't
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act on the intelligence gathered by the group as it had been obtained illegally. Moreover, most of the
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shutdowns proved only temporary. While one major site eventually closed for good, the rest had
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merely gone dark, which meant they ceased activity where they were being monitored and shifted to private
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communication channels. Worse still, the widespread publicity of Operation Darknet triggered a surge in
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activity and membership within the dark web's pedophile communities. Before long, the sites were
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back up and running in even greater [Music] numbers. Exposure to the dark web changed Lux fundamentally.
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He admitted to Patrick O'Neal that it had awakened and normalized latent pedophilic urges he'd harbored since his
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teenage years. The communities he witnessed there were surprisingly supportive, offering him a sense of belonging that
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eased his depressive feelings and helped him form connections he struggled to build in the real
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world. To Lux, it was quote like a home in there. When Lux told other users that he was an
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American pediatrician who sexually abused children, his status within the community
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skyrocketed. He also gained respect as an enabler, teaching others how to procure victims, create content, and
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cover their tracks. He provided tech security tips to avoid real world detection and
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explained how to strip identifying metadata from photos and videos. Lux also encouraged others to abuse
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children, tutoring one user who worked in short-term accommodation for intellectually disabled children to
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assault a girl in his care. He advised another on how to abduct, rape, and kill a 5-year-old girl
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while also offering guidance on how to dispose of bodies. As Lux grew in popularity, he began
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creating elicit sites of his own and built what he came to refer to as his pedo empire. In time, he noticed a glaring
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gap in the market. The groups he participated in had either banned her core outright or
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tolerated it to a limited extent, but didn't advertise it as a feature of their site.
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Seeking quote complete freedom, Lux set up the one and only forum dedicated to the repudiated
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subgenre. A pre-registration message on the site claimed that Hurt to the Core was censorship free and dedicated to
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open discussion. If you do not agree with that or are easily offended, it warned,
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then this is not the place for you. Under Lux's leadership, Hurt to the Core grew into one of the largest
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distributors of child exploitation material and hurt core content in the world. The site relished in its
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depravity with users posting videos and images depicting rape, murder, and the sexual abuse of animals and corpses.
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Lux told Patrick O'Neal that the forum was averaging 326 new accounts and around 160 posts
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daily. The thousands of members from around the world commissioned each other for new content tailored to their
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specific tastes. According to Lux, around 15,000 videos were downloaded from the forum
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each day. His separate quote pedo wiki website, which contained nearly 600 articles about pedophilia, had
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reportedly garnered millions of hits, though Patrick had no way of verifying any of Lux's
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claims. At the helm of Hurt to the Core were 16 elite members of an exclusive VIP section called the Producers Lounge.
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In order to join, prospective members had to provide a defined amount of original video
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content. To prove it was original, they made their victims hold up signs or write unique identifiers on their
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bodies, such as for Lux. The attention fueled Lux's ego, and he craved notoriety.
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It was this arrogance that ultimately led him to disregard warnings from his community and agree to speak with the
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journalist Patrick O'Neal. Despite having earned the title of quote the king of Hercore, Lux told
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Patrick that he didn't even like hurt her core. He was just defending other people's right to enjoy it.
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Luck stated, "If anyone had ever done such a thing to any of the kids I know, I would put a bullet in their head.
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Given that, I still think that people who have an interest in such things should have a place where they're able
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to voice their opinions and desires." Lux explained that he didn't benefit financially from his crimes and
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had no intention of doing so. He just considered himself a strong believer in free
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speech. But as Patrick O'Neal pointed out, he has marketkedly less concern for the freedom of the actual children being
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exploited. Law enforcement deemed Lux one of the world's worst online pedophiles.
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Agencies around the globe joined forces to launch Operation Downfall, a coordinated effort to dismantle Pedo
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Empire and bring Lux to justice. But Lux and his network were highly skilled in navigating the dark
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web, making them masters of their domain. Lux was supremely confident in his online security and certain he could
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never be identified. Aside from the police, countless others had tried to take him
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down over the years, including activists and internet vigilantes, but none achieved lasting
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success. Whenever one of his sites was taken down, Lux would promptly restore it or create another in its
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[Music] likeness. In 2013, 6 months into Hurt to the Core's creation and as part of
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Operation Downfall, the USA's Federal Bureau of Investigation seized the servers of Freedom Hosting, the world's
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largest dark web hosting provider. This was a significant blow to Lux's Empire, as it took down many of
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his sites. Undeterred, he resurfaced. This time hosting his own private web server,
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eliminating the reliance on third-party services and giving him complete control
00:21:16
over his pedo empire. Other dark web users began rapidly setting up sights on Lux's
00:21:24
servers as he announced, "Well, it looks like this empire hasn't fallen yet." To any law
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enforcement agency who may be reading this, [ __ ] you. You cannot keep us down,
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and every time you try, we will just get bigger and bigger. So, thanks for the publicity and leading more pedophiles to
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where you can't catch them. Yet by early 2014, members of Lux's community began to suspect
00:21:57
something was a miss, as he had become uncharacteristically slow to respond to their
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messages. For the first time, Lux's bravado faltered, and he seemed genuinely afraid that the police were
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closing in on him. When a member of Hurt to the Core once mused about the possibility of Lux
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being exposed, he confidently assured them that he would go down in a blaze of glory. That so-called blaze of glory
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began when Lux reached out to the FBI through a cyber tip hotline. My name is Lux, his email
00:22:35
began. And not only do I run the largest online suite of child pornography websites, but I also have knowledge
00:22:43
about its users and their identities unrivaled by anyone out there. On top of that, I also have
00:22:52
complete control over the large group of proven producers on any site. I am sure that access to this, let alone
00:23:01
everything else I am offering you, is merit for the conditions I will outline below. In exchange for relinquishing
00:23:10
full control of his empire, including his Lux persona, Lux demanded $50,000 in digital currency and immunity across all
00:23:20
jurisdictions. When this attempt failed, Lux pivoted dramatically, claiming he was motivated
00:23:27
by a desire to dismantle his own pedophile network to protect the victims they had
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harmed. He wrote to the FBI. It is clear you are not taking my offer seriously. It is not a game. These
00:23:43
are real lives you are bargaining on. I will get rid of these people because no one else will. As you do not want to be
00:23:52
part of the solution, I bid you farewell. In June 2014, having failed to convince the authorities to meet his
00:24:03
demands, Lux abruptly shut down all of his sites and announced his immediate retirement from the dark
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web. He told journalist Patrick O'Neal that the decision was prompted by personal issues brought to his attention
00:24:18
by close friends. As always, all empires eventually fall, Lux stated. And today is the day that
00:24:27
the Pedo Empire falls. After years of running child pornography hidden services, today is
00:24:34
the day that I walk away. I don't like long awkward farewells. So, goodbye. Within 2 months, he was back on the dark
00:24:47
web, confiding to a close friend that while he had killed off Lux, he had been reborn under the username Buddha and was
00:24:55
already working on a new website. At dawn on Tuesday, August 26th, 2014, 3 years after Lux first
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emerged on the dark web, a police task force in Victoria, Australia, prepared to carry out a
00:25:16
raid. Unbeknownst to Lux, he had befriended an undercover officer online who had successfully infiltrated his
00:25:23
network. They had gathered crucial intel that led them to where he was hosting his illegal
00:25:30
operations, a home on a quiet suburban culdesac in South Morang. The house was occupied by a
00:25:39
family of four, a father, a mother, son, and a daughter. Based on their intelligence,
00:25:46
authorities believed that one of them was the king of her core, Lux. Given that Lux's online behavior
00:25:55
suggested he had a degree of life experience, they assumed it had to be the father, a mechanic and panel beater
00:26:02
aged in his 50s. But when officers stormed the house, they quickly realized their
00:26:11
mistake. As it turned out, Lux was actually the scrawny, pimplyfaced son of the family, 21-year-old Matthew
00:26:20
Graham. A bright, albeit unremarkable, former nanotechnology student, Graeme had dropped out of university and spent
00:26:29
the past three years holed up in his bedroom, glued to his laptop. Shy, insecure, and socially
00:26:37
anxious, he had withdrawn from society and barely interacted with his family. He didn't even come out of his room to
00:26:45
eat dinner, though he did occasionally babysit his neighbors six children, all aged under
00:26:53
10. Matthew Graham initially spent most of his time online, engrossed in multiplayer
00:27:00
games. These communities led him to 4chan, which then guided him into the dark web.
00:27:07
When he first took on the Lux persona, Graham was only 18 years old and still in high
00:27:14
school. He had always believed himself to be asexual, experiencing no sexual attraction or feelings toward
00:27:22
anyone. He claimed his interest in child exploitation material was driven by a mix of repulsion and fascination.
00:27:32
As time went on, he consumed increasingly depraved content, seeking an emotional response that never
00:27:41
surfaced. Graham said he felt disconnected from the suffering, as if he were from another
00:27:47
planet. Yet, he eventually began masturbating to it. Matthew Graham's family was stunned to
00:27:58
learn what he had been up to. All this time, they thought he was just gaming in his
00:28:05
bedroom. While he had no criminal record, academic issues, or behavioral problems, his parents spoke of his
00:28:12
diagnosed skitsoid personality disorder, anxiety, and depression, and how he rejected all of their attempts to get
00:28:20
him professional help. There was no mention of any significant childhood trauma, humiliation, or abuse
00:28:28
that could have explained his actions. The police had considered Lux to be devilishly smart. But outside of
00:28:37
the dark web, Matthew Graham was a meek, awkward individual who was quote unlikely to win a battle of wits or
00:28:45
anything else. Though he initially refused to cooperate, he eventually surrendered the
00:28:53
password to his laptop, revealing the full extent of his crimes. Matthew Graham held the most
00:29:00
depraved collection of pornography the case investigators had ever encountered. He attempted to spin a
00:29:08
narrative, claiming he had established his pedo empire to catch child abusers, an excuse the police quickly dismissed.
00:29:17
He finally admitted his real motivation was a desire to be a part of something, explaining, "The sexualization was never
00:29:27
anything I was interested in. It was the power within the community." There was no evidence to
00:29:35
suggest that Matthew Graham had ever harmed any child left in his care. In fact, despite his assertions online,
00:29:44
Graeme was classified as a non-cont offender. While he actively facilitated abuse, he never physically committed it
00:29:54
himself. However, police believed that if left unchecked, it was only a matter of time before he escalated.
00:30:03
Matthew Graham ultimately pleaded guilty to 13 child exploitation charges. Author Eileen Orsby attended
00:30:12
Graham's sentencing hearing in 2016 and recounted the experience in her book, The Darkest Web. With his family present
00:30:21
in support, Graeme hunched over and sobbed quietly as the details of the crimes he facilitated and encouraged
00:30:29
were revealed to the court. Prior to reaching their decision, the judge was legally obligated to view a notoriously
00:30:37
depraved dark web video promoted by Graham online, which depicted the abuse of a
00:30:44
toddler. At first, the judge couldn't bring himself to do it. When he finally gathered the mental fortitude to leave
00:30:52
the courtroom and view the material the next day, he returned half an hour later, noticeably quiet and pale.
00:31:01
It was my clear duty to watch it, he said. I wish it hadn't been. It is the worst thing I have ever
00:31:10
seen. How any human can view that impassively. To you, it was just footage for your
00:31:19
stock. It was pure evil. I've seen some shocking things over the journey of my career, and I
00:31:27
have never seen anything like that. I can find no like cases. Your case is without
00:31:37
parallel. For apparently showing signs of remorse, Matthew Graham was sentenced to 15 years in prison. With good
00:31:46
behavior and concessions, he could be released in as little as 10. As part of Operation Downfall and
00:31:54
with Graeme agreeing to be an informer, several other key members of Lux's network were identified and
00:32:02
convicted. The investigation also resulted in the rescue of 30 young abuse victims
00:32:10
worldwide. News of Lux's arrest sent shock waves through the dark web. Many were stunned to learn the reigning
00:32:18
king of Hurtcore was merely a gaming tech nerd barely out of high school. His downfall was nevertheless
00:32:27
widely celebrated with detractors attributing Lux's undoing to his unchecked arrogance and inflated
00:32:34
ego. One user said he is now paying the price for his deeds and he is now another name in the
00:32:43
past of Darknet. I figure it is best to let him be in the past and fade away. Following Matthew Graeme's
00:32:59
momentous capture, his pedo empire had effectively crumbled. However, replacement sites quickly emerged to
00:33:07
fill the void. One was a forum titled Scream [ __ ] which marked an escalation of the
00:33:14
depravity previously featured on Hurt to the Core. In the years that followed, Scream
00:33:21
[ __ ] flourished, setting authorities back in their efforts to completely dismantle the dark web's thriving
00:33:27
pedophile enterprise. An avid poster to Scream [ __ ] was a user known as 666 Devil. He
00:33:36
had earned a notable reputation on the dark web for his unique brand of original child exploitation
00:33:44
material. 666 Devil posed online as a woman named Liz Kandell and sought out underageed girls as young as 12 claiming
00:33:53
to be a budding artist willing to pay for nude photographs. He was known to frequent websites like a
00:34:00
gum tree and Facebook where he searched for posts by girls requesting money for innocuous work such as dog walking or
00:34:09
babysitting. He would then offer an exorbitant payment to tempt them into becoming Liz's art
00:34:16
subject. It's up to you. I understand if you don't want to, he assured them, reinforcing the illusion that they were
00:34:24
in control and that nothing was a miss. [Music] 666 Devil sometimes engaged his targets
00:34:32
in friendly conversations in which he carefully probed for personal details and hidden traumas he could then
00:34:39
exploit. He believed that vulnerable girls made for easier targets as they were often eager to interact with a kind
00:34:48
person who was willing to listen. He asked seemingly compassionate questions like, "I'm really interested
00:34:57
in you and I want to find out more about you. Isn't your life hard?" He fabricated connections by
00:35:06
lying about being infertile and suffering from depression, all the while trolling websites frequented by
00:35:13
susceptible, sensitive, or naive girls, including forums dedicated to eating disorders.
00:35:20
Although most of his victims were underage girls, his abuse also extended to boys as well as adult men and
00:35:29
women. Behind the scenes, 666 Devil carried out reconnaissance, gathering every piece of information he could
00:35:37
about his targets, including their name, address, school, workplace, friends, and
00:35:44
family. Unaware of the intricate web of deceit being spun around them, the girls
00:35:50
eventually placed their trust in Liz and sent her the photographs she requested. The moment 666 Devil received
00:36:00
the images, the kind and supportive Liz facade vanished. He revealed to the girls that
00:36:07
he wasn't a full-len artist, but rather their worst nightmare. Those photos you've sent won't hurt me,
00:36:20
he told his victims, but will end badly for you. The girls were then given two options. Complete destruction, 666 Devil
00:36:30
explained, "Or be my slave." He said they could either continue to provide him with explicit photographs of
00:36:39
themselves or he would send the images he already possessed to their family, friends, neighbors, school, employers,
00:36:47
and even their bullies. He also threatened to plaster the photos across the mainstream
00:36:53
internet, making them go viral. I'll share your details on the dark web, he warned. They'll all compete
00:37:02
to ruin your life. The girls were given as little as 48 hours to respond. Ignoring his demands was
00:37:13
fruitless. If they dared to defy 666 Devil, he promised to distribute the images
00:37:20
anyway. Certain no one could ever identify him. He taunted his victims by asserting, "Even if you gave the police
00:37:28
direct access to every single thing I have sent you, I am still 100% safe." Confused and paralyzed by fear,
00:37:39
the victims felt they had no other choice but to comply with 666 Devil. One girl later told
00:37:47
police, "I felt stupid and trapped. The idea of people seeing me topless made me
00:37:54
feel sick. I knew I couldn't let it happen. I didn't know who Liz was or why she was doing this, but I felt I had no
00:38:06
option. After procuring his victim, 666 Devil's demands became increasingly degrading. He ordered the girls to strip
00:38:15
naked and take photos with demeaning or offensive comments scrolled on their bodies.
00:38:21
He demanded that they photograph themselves licking toilet bowls, brushes, or used sanitary products,
00:38:28
eating dog food or excrement, or attaching painful bulldog clips to sensitive parts of their
00:38:35
bodies. The cruel demands left many girls with serious injuries, but 666 Devil was relentless.
00:38:44
One victim later stated, "Every day when I woke up, there would be a message. When I came home
00:38:51
from school, there would be a message. When I wasn't actually talking to him, I was worried about when the next message
00:38:59
was going to come through." To exert even greater control over his victims, 666 Devil demanded
00:39:09
access to their social media accounts. He also sometimes created fake profiles impersonating his victims to wreak havoc
00:39:18
on their personal lives. In one instance, he messaged a victim's schoolmate while posing as the
00:39:25
victim, provoking a confrontation by claiming they wanted to fight. When the victim returned to
00:39:32
school, they were beaten, completely unaware that the attack had been orchestrated by their online tormentor.
00:39:40
The girls always did as they were told, hoping that complying would stop their ordeal from spiraling further out of
00:39:48
control. One of the girls, who was in foster care at the time, was told her disabled brother would be taken away
00:39:55
from her if she did not keep sending pictures of herself. Yet, with each new photograph
00:40:01
sent, things only worsened. 666 Devil made his victims perform violent and sexual acts on their pets
00:40:10
and abuse and torture their siblings, some of whom were infants. One girl was ordered to record
00:40:18
herself violently stomping on her younger brother. Another was made to sexually assault her 4-year-old
00:40:26
sibling. 666 Devil's victims felt helpless as the constant threat of exposure loomed over them. If they
00:40:34
stopped obeying, they believed that their loved ones would receive all the humiliating images and their lives would
00:40:41
be ruined beyond repair. "Do you really want your friends to see these?" 666 Devil asked them
00:40:49
mockingly. "I will do everything I can to make your life awful." The girls were trapped, their lives
00:40:58
consumed by paranoia, depression, and in some cases, self harm, and suicidal thoughts. Many of their personal
00:41:07
relationships were destroyed as they tried to navigate the struggles of the real world while secretly enduring
00:41:14
horrific abuses in the digital one. When one victim told 666 Devil that she was thinking of ending her own life to
00:41:23
make it all stop, he replied, "Well, you might end it all, but that would not mean that your images don't get
00:41:32
circulated. Your images will still be circulated to your family and it will still be published
00:41:38
online. So, what good is that going to be to you? You have no choice." One of the girls victimized by 666 Devil
00:41:49
later spoke anonymously with the BBC, explaining why she followed his demands. Through tears, she said, "I
00:41:59
felt like people wouldn't understand that it wasn't my fault how it started, and I didn't want to do it. I was
00:42:07
ashamed, and obviously you've heard what the pictures were like. They were awful
00:42:12
and I didn't want any of my friends to think that I wanted to do that. But I felt that no one would understand
00:42:20
because there was no one there sort of holding a knife to me saying you will do this even though it felt like that. So I
00:42:28
didn't tell anyone. [Music] 666 Devil shared the images of his victims with other pedophiles on the
00:42:38
dark web through forums like Hurt to the Core and Scream [ __ ] even offering advice on how they could replicate his
00:42:47
con. I love blackmail, he told them, especially forcing someone to do things they don't want to for amusement.
00:42:57
He made no financial gain, acting solely for the sheer thrill and clout of sharing his
00:43:03
material. This also meant there was no money or digital currency trail for authorities to
00:43:11
follow. Nevertheless, the FBI had been working diligently to identify 666 Devil since he first appeared on the dark web
00:43:19
in 2009. Over the coming years, they carefully examined the graphic content he shared online in hopes of uncovering
00:43:28
clues to his identity and the true scope of his offending. The material they were forced
00:43:35
to review was some of the darkest, most depraved content they had ever encountered. The emotional toll was
00:43:43
immense, but the evidence only strengthened their resolve to capture 666 Devil and protect his victims.
00:43:52
By 2013, 666 Devil's behavior on Scream [ __ ] was raising serious alarm bells. He posted an image on the forum
00:44:02
of a young pajama clad girl between the ages of 5 and seven. She was holding a sign that read, "I heart SB," the
00:44:13
initials of Scream [ __ ] along with a date just a few days away. According to 666 Devil, the girl
00:44:22
was his daughter whom he admitted to abusing regularly. Among his disturbing claims,
00:44:29
he asserted that he kept her in a cage and fed her dog food. The revelation that 666 Devil had
00:44:38
unlimited access to a child earned him celebrity status among the other pedophiles.
00:44:45
However, the point of his post was to advertise what he called hell week. 7 days of intense abuse he intended to
00:44:54
carry out against his daughter as dictated by the Scream [ __ ] community. He asked his like-minded
00:45:03
followers, "What do you want me to do to her?" When one replied, "How far are you
00:45:10
prepared to go?" 666 Devil responded gleefully, "There are no [Music] limits." Users responded excitedly with
00:45:22
suggestions on how to terrorize 666 Devil's Daughter, from the psychological to the physical.
00:45:30
Some of their ideas were considered by the police to be relatively mundane, but nevertheless evil, like mixing bags of
00:45:38
white and brown rice in a bowl and getting the child to separate the minuscule grains by
00:45:44
color. Other suggestions were more unsafe, like starving her for a day. The brainstorming session quickly
00:45:53
devolved into users encouraging abhorrent criminal acts. One proposed, "Show her the meaning of
00:46:01
pain. That would be beautiful to see." 666 Devil replied, relishing the discussion. "I have so many
00:46:12
[Music] ideas." Although the real life identity of 666 Devil remained a mystery,
00:46:19
intelligence gathered by the FBI suggested that he was likely a man based in the
00:46:25
UK. Given the urgency of the situation, they alerted their British counterparts at the National Crime Agency who sprang
00:46:33
into action, desperate to rescue the child at the center of the abuse. But they had an arduous journey
00:46:41
ahead. Even if the assumption that the offender was a British man was correct, there were over 30 million men over the
00:46:50
age of 18 in the UK at the time. Trying to find 666 Devil in the real world felt
00:46:57
like searching for a needle in a haystack. Undeterred, the NCA launched a dedicated investigation titled Operation
00:47:08
Cam, aimed at bringing down 666 Devil once and for all. They immediately issued a National
00:47:16
Child Rescue Alert to all law enforcement agencies across the UK. The alert contained the image of the
00:47:23
girl 666 Devil claimed to be his daughter along with urgent instructions to report any sightings of her directly
00:47:31
to the NCA. Meanwhile, NCA staff scoured the conversations taking place on Scream
00:47:38
[ __ ] analyzing every word for clues that might reveal 666 Devil's whereabouts. But as time dragged on,
00:47:47
little progress was made. Speaking to the televised series Prime Suspect: Hunting the Predators, NCA
00:47:56
branch commander Matthew Long recalled the crushing sense of hopelessness investigators felt each time they ended
00:48:03
their shifts without finding the girl. Quote, "I remember driving home and feeling an unbelievable pressure that it
00:48:11
was Wednesday going into Thursday. There was a possibility that a child might die
00:48:16
on Friday. As the deadline loomed, the NCA exhausted every available avenue to try
00:48:26
and identify the little girl. Senior investigating officer Matt Sutton told Prime
00:48:33
Suspect. It's hard to go home and you haven't safeguarded that child because you know that while you're sleeping,
00:48:40
that child could be being tortured. Meanwhile, oncreen [ __ ] hell week had commenced.
00:48:49
666 Devil provided his cheering sick fans with the daily updates about the horrific acts he was
00:48:56
committing. The situation grew even more dire when it became evident that 666 Devil posed a threat to other children
00:49:04
in his life. When Halloween approached, he described how he intended to lace sweets
00:49:11
with screws, nails, and even human excrement before handing them out to unsuspecting
00:49:17
trick-or-treaters. He even hinted at inviting them inside to quote, "Play." Clinical and forensic
00:49:26
psychologist Kirsty Lo read the alarming exchanges between 666 Devil and his peers to help create a suspect profile.
00:49:35
The messages left her stunned. She told Prime Suspect, "How could people really be
00:49:43
thinking like this? The cruelty, the absolute cruelty of just not caring at all about what they were talking
00:49:52
about. These were people's lives, and he didn't care. You had kids who were just caught
00:49:59
in this absolute hell." Based on his online presence, Kirsty believed that in real life, 666 Devil
00:50:09
was likely a fairly ineffectual individual who spent a lot of time on the computer, wasn't very sociable, and
00:50:17
didn't really fit into society. Yet, with no worthwhile leads emerging, the NCA could do little else
00:50:25
but quietly monitor the dark web, waiting for clues. They meticulously searched for even the
00:50:33
smallest mistake 666 Devil might have made that could help unravel him, but he never slipped up. His discipline was
00:50:42
extreme, his awareness hyperfocused on avoiding doing anything online that might leave a
00:50:52
trail. Then word of a troubling Facebook post reached the NCA. It was written by a 16-year-old girl
00:51:01
from southern England named Tessa Dorsy. She described an incident from months earlier when she had posted an ad
00:51:08
for babysitting work on Gumree. She received a message from someone claiming to be an artist named
00:51:16
Liz Kandell, the false identity knowingly used by 666 Devil to prey upon his victims.
00:51:24
Tessa's Facebook post, which warned others that Liz was a predator, prompted the NCA to reach
00:51:31
out. Through this connection, they uncovered an email address 666 Devil had used under the guise of Liz Kandell to
00:51:39
interact with Tessa. It was a safe mail account, a highly secure platform designed to
00:51:47
protect users identities. It did so by masking their IP addresses. the unique identifiers
00:51:54
assigned by internet service providers to pinpoint a devices network location in the real
00:52:02
world. While this prevented the NCA from pinpointing 666 Devil's exact whereabouts, they turned to Gumree for
00:52:10
assistance, hoping the company had records of Liz Kandell's interactions on the site.
00:52:17
The Liz Candell safe mail account was traced to what initially appeared to be an innocuous interaction with another
00:52:24
Gumree user based in the UK. They had posted an ad seeking a particular type of doll for their
00:52:32
daughter. Posing as Liz, 666 Devil responded to the ad claiming to have the exact doll and offering to give it away
00:52:41
for free on one condition. The message read, "Can I just ask one thing? I want to be 100% sure the doll really is going
00:52:53
to the little girl rather than a sneaky adult collector. And I also want to be able to show my friend who gave it to me
00:53:00
that it is appreciated. Could you take a picture of your daughter holding a sign which says
00:53:08
I heart SB?" Hopefully that makes sense. Is that okay, Liz? As it turned out, the photograph
00:53:19
666 Devil had been parading around the dark web as his daughter was in reality an innocent image sent to him by an
00:53:28
unsuspecting mother from Gumree. She had interacted with Liz Kandell and believing the exchange to be
00:53:36
genuine, had provided the photo as requested. Within half an hour, 666 Devil had
00:53:44
posted the image on the dark web, claiming it was of his daughter. In truth, the entire narrative
00:53:51
he had woven on Scream [ __ ] about abusing his daughter and his ominous hellweek plans was nothing more than a
00:53:59
grotesque fabrication. The discovery came as a major relief to investigators, but they were determined
00:54:07
to find the girl to ensure she was safe. The NCA obtained the residential address of the woman seeking the doll,
00:54:16
and an agent accompanied by a social worker proceeded to visit her home. When they knocked on the door and
00:54:24
identified themselves, the woman immediately said, "I know why you're here, and I want you to come
00:54:34
in." Inside, the investigator and social worker found the little girl from the photograph and confirmed she was
00:54:41
unharmed and had no real world connection to 666 Devil. The child was sent upstairs while
00:54:49
her mother was interviewed. Visibly devastated by what had occurred, she recounted her online
00:54:56
encounter with Liz Kandell. After their initial exchange, Liz had privately messaged her asking
00:55:04
for more pictures of her daughter. That was when her suspicion grew, prompting her to report Liz to Gumree.
00:55:12
[Music] The realization that an online predator had coerced a photo of her daughter left
00:55:18
the woman deeply shaken and physically ill. She was too distraught to work and couldn't bear to let her daughter out of
00:55:27
her sight. I feel as if I failed my daughter massively by being too trusting. She
00:55:33
later said, "It's my job as her mom to protect her and I put her in danger. That will never go away.
00:55:42
I have to live with that guilt and struggle with it for the rest of my life. While the NCA had successfully
00:55:52
identified and safeguarded the girl, they were still no closer to finding 666 Devil. As their investigation deepened,
00:56:02
countless reports surfaced describing harrowing encounters that perfectly matched his MMO.
00:56:09
He used many different accounts, usernames, and email addresses to avoid detection. Sometimes instead of Liz
00:56:17
Candell, he posed as women named Jess or Shona, but the pattern of manipulation and abuse remained
00:56:27
consistent. The path forward proved to be more daunting than investigators could have imagined.
00:56:34
NCA branch commander Matthew Long told Prime Suspect. The more we investigated, the
00:56:41
more we found. What started to unravel in front of me very quickly was a volume of
00:56:48
children who had been abused, which was bordering on unprecedented. We realized how
00:56:54
determined, how dangerous, and how the offenders were prepared to go to any lengths to exploit children.
00:57:03
The impact 666 Devil had was crushing. The abuse one victim was subjected to resulted in her developing
00:57:11
a cult-like following on the dark web. The frenzied interest fueled 666 Devil's cruelty, driving the victim into
00:57:20
a severe mental health crisis that left her hospitalized after a suicide attempt. She informed 666 Devil, hoping
00:57:30
for mercy. Instead, he callously updated her online fan base. Thinking of just betraying her as
00:57:39
harshly as I can to see how much I can mentally [ __ ] her up. I think there's even a bit of chance of
00:57:47
suicide. I am not sure I care if she lives or dies. Any hope the victim had that 666
00:57:56
Devil would take pity on her was quickly dashed. Even as she lay in a hospital bed
00:58:03
recovering, he continued to demand more images. Speaking about this incident for
00:58:10
prime suspect, NCA branch commander Matthew Long said, "That victim is having a bad run
00:58:17
in life." And his reaction was, "Great. Let's see if I can make them worse. Let me see if I can give them more pain.
00:58:26
[Music] While other cyber criminals the NCA had dealt with had motivations they could
00:58:36
fathom, such as money, passion, hate, or revenge, 666 Devil's sole motivation was
00:58:43
to inflict pain on others. in online discussions about things he wanted to see at least once in
00:58:50
his life. He listed a young girl being used as a dart board, a video of a child's bones being slowly and
00:58:59
deliberately broken, and the abuse of a disabled child. The more the NCA observed 666
00:59:08
Devil, the more their personal hatred for him grew. Operation Cam soon became the largest
00:59:16
online manhunt the agency had ever faced. Yet, the investigation was hampered by a fundamental problem. The
00:59:25
internet itself was the crime scene, devoid of physical, biological, or trace evidence to guide their
00:59:32
search. The dark web's vast international scale made mapping the web of destruction immensely demanding in
00:59:40
terms of time and resources. With many traditional investigative techniques rendered useless, the police
00:59:48
were forced to develop more creative and sophisticated methods to uncover critical
00:59:55
information. They employed language analysis and behavioral science to gain deeper insight into 666 Devil's
01:00:03
personality. Undercover officers infiltrated Scream [ __ ] posing as pedophiles to interact with him
01:00:10
directly. Digital experts worked tirelessly to penetrate the site's multiple layers of
01:00:17
heavy encryption. All the while, investigators continuously sharpened their IT skills,
01:00:24
striving to get one step ahead of him. An NCA officer likened the investigation to a maddening game of
01:00:33
chess. Far from discouraged, the NCA expanded its reach and effectiveness by partnering with the US Department of
01:00:42
Homeland Security, the Australian Federal Police, Europole, and other international
01:00:49
agencies. Meanwhile, more victims came forward and were being identified, including one who had been under 66
01:00:57
Devil's influence for over a year. A specialized support team was established to help them
01:01:04
all. For many, it was the first time they had openly discussed the abuse they endured. Though it was painful, it
01:01:13
allowed them to reclaim their power, break free from their tormentor's control, and finally cease contact.
01:01:22
The victims also provided the NCA access to their online accounts and digital devices, enabling investigators to
01:01:30
gather more intelligence by communicating with 666 Devil under the guise of one of his
01:01:38
victims. Despite these efforts, 666 Devil remained at large, hiding in plain sight. His ability to outsmart
01:01:47
authorities and evade capture only fueled his arrogance. He continued preying on new
01:01:55
victims, gloating online, "I am completely untraceable." At around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June
01:02:10
21, 2017, 4 years into Operation Cam, Plain Clothes NCA agents arrived unannounced at the prestigious
01:02:19
University of Birmingham in England's Central West. They headed straight to a faculty
01:02:25
member's office and swiftly seized multiple digital devices to protect their investigative
01:02:32
methods for future use. The NCA has not publicly disclosed exactly how they obtained the critical intelligence that
01:02:40
led them to this historic moment. They admitted that it began with a tiny but vital lead that eventually
01:02:48
pinpointed an IP address linked to a UK residence and most importantly a name, Matthew
01:02:57
Fer. Identifying 28-year-old Matthew Fer as their prime suspect had allowed Operation Cacam to liberate itself from
01:03:06
the tangled digital maze of encryption, aliases, and anonymity that favored 666 Devil. With the investigation shifting
01:03:16
into the real world, the NCA held the upper hand, and the possibility of making an arrest strengthened the team's
01:03:24
resolve to see their mentally and emotionally draining operation through to the end. Their first step had been to
01:03:32
covertly surveil Fer to determine whether the timings of his online activity matched 666 Devils while also
01:03:40
identifying the devices he used. By monitoring Fer, the NCA knew he could continue harming others online.
01:03:49
But if they moved too quickly, they risked their opportunity to gather critical evidence. Moving too slowly carried its
01:03:58
own dangers, too. Fer's victims had suddenly begun cutting contact on mass. If he sensed they'd sought help
01:04:08
from the police or that something was going on behind the scenes, he could start destroying
01:04:15
evidence. It was a delicate balance. The resulting nervous anticipation in the NCA office likened to a brewing storm.
01:04:27
It took 3 months of surveillance before the NCA were prepared to make their move. 8 years after 666 Devil was first
01:04:37
detected on the dark web, agents arrived at the University of Birmingham, where Matthew Fer worked as a geoysics
01:04:44
lecturer while completing postdoal research. Fuler watched on in frantic bewilderment
01:04:52
as his office was raided, shaking his head in disbelief. The unfolding chaos rendered
01:04:59
him speechless. When he did speak, his words were stuttered as though he was desperately trying to figure out how the
01:05:07
police had managed to track him down. To psychologist Kirsty Lowe, Fer's stunned reaction was a striking
01:05:16
portrayal of his separate online and offline realities crashing together in a way he never believed
01:05:23
possible. Speaking to prime suspect, an NCA intelligence officer remarked with a
01:05:29
ry smile, "I take great satisfaction in the fact that I still don't think he knows
01:05:36
how we did it." After being placed in handcuffs, Fer stammered. So, what was it that I've
01:05:46
done? The agents listed the charges he was suspected of. Blackmail, causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual
01:05:55
activity, possessing and distributing indecent images of children, and causing grievous bodily
01:06:02
harm. Fer responded with a nervous attempt at humor, calling it the rap sheet from hell.
01:06:11
Matthew Fer, much like Matthew Graham, also known as Lux before him, embodied the unsettling truth about online
01:06:19
predators. They often defied expectations. As NCA senior investigating officer Matt Sutton told
01:06:29
Prime Suspect, "You always have some form of idea of who you think you're looking
01:06:35
for. It never ends up being right. Far from fitting the stereotype of a dangerous, disturbed, or depraved
01:06:45
individual, Fer appeared remarkably ordinary. He was a young, highly intelligent and wellrespected academic
01:06:54
who had graduated from the esteemed University of Cambridge, specializing in seismic oceanography and earning both
01:07:01
M's and doctoral degrees. Raised in a wealthy, supportive family with no history of abuse, he had
01:07:09
excelled academically from a young age with one of his tutors stating he was one of the finest students he ever
01:07:18
had. Unlike the socially anxious and reclusive Lux, Fer was popular and extroverted. He maintained a long-term
01:07:27
romantic relationship and had an active social life with a vast network of friends and associates.
01:07:34
His peers described him as larger than life with a dynamic social magnetism due to his likable personality and sense of
01:07:44
humor. His social media accounts were filled with selfies and revealed a love of dinosaurs, baking, table tennis,
01:07:52
crosswords, and 3D printing. With no prior history with the police and a seemingly spotless reputation,
01:08:01
Matthew Fer was viewed as a trustworthy figure. The only hint of his online activities was his exceptional skill
01:08:10
with computers and a query on his Twitter feed where he once asked his followers how to put nice quality videos
01:08:21
online. As Fer was taken into custody for questioning, investigators established a crime scene at his flat in
01:08:29
nearby Edgebaston. The residence was described as a squalor delay with clothes, food
01:08:36
containers, and other clutter strewn about. In a living space behind a red couch and near a washer and dryer pushed
01:08:44
into a corner stood Fer's desk and computer. The desk itself was as chaotic as the rest of the flat, covered in
01:08:53
cords, lamps, stationery, and wine glasses. The computer was on, displaying the desktop
01:09:03
screen. Forensic examination of the device uncovered Matthew Fers's disturbing dark web hall of nearly
01:09:10
14,000 indecent images and 1,251 videos of children and other victims from around the world.
01:09:20
Among the collection was a video depicting the sexual assault of a newborn baby, as well as a so-called
01:09:26
pedophile manual that provided instructions on how to carry out child sexual abuse and not be detected by
01:09:35
police. Hidden underneath the mattress on Folder's bed, police found a worn 12-year-old laptop with its battery
01:09:43
removed. A small square of paper had been taped over the webcam above the screen. The device had been heavily
01:09:53
encrypted, preventing easy access. It took time, but experts eventually broke in and found the
01:10:01
evidence they were after. On the laptop, Fer had meticulously cataloged all of his
01:10:08
blackmail victims. The overwhelming collection of material provided a complete picture of the
01:10:15
seriousness and scale of his offenses. Even more shocking, the laptop revealed a history of crimes Fer had
01:10:24
committed that police were unaware of. 666 Devil was a virtual predator who targeted unknown victims in a hands-off
01:10:34
manner driven by inflicting pain and suffering. But the truth about Matthew Fer was even
01:10:42
more sinister. Footage uncovered on his laptop revealed that he had installed hidden cameras to film unsuspecting
01:10:50
women he knew in real life as they changed clothes or showered. These crimes dated back to
01:10:58
2007 when he secretly recorded other students in a bathroom while studying at Cambridge University.
01:11:06
In total, these violations occurred at eight different locations and involved 13
01:11:16
victims. Before Fer's arrest, police had evidence to support 30 to 40 charges. But after the seizure of his
01:11:25
devices, that number more than quadrupled. In the UK, police have just 24 hours to present the alleged crime to
01:11:35
the suspect, obtain their account, and consult with the Crown Prosecution Service to lay official
01:11:42
charges. If the deadline is reached before any charges are laid, the suspect is free to
01:11:49
go. After being granted his right to consult with the solicitor, Matthew Fer was led into an interview
01:11:57
room. With the 24-hour countdown underway, NCA lead interviewing officer Jane Lawrenson began questioning
01:12:06
Fer. Although she had seen pictures of Fer beforehand, seeing him face to face highlighted just how normal he seemed.
01:12:16
To officer Lawren, Foulder looked like a regular person you would walk past on the street without taking a second
01:12:23
glance at. But in the interview room, Fer was notably tense. He sat with his arms crossed
01:12:32
tightly across his chest and eyes fixed straight ahead. He answered every question with a
01:12:39
dead panned no comment response, refusing to elaborate on any of his alleged offenses.
01:12:46
When Officer Lawrenson listed the evidence uncovered on Folder's devices, she asked him, "What else is there,
01:12:54
Matthew? This is your opportunity to tell us now. Are we going to find anything else
01:13:00
that you've made people do or that you're in possession of?" Folder continued to repeat no
01:13:08
comment over and over. When officer Lawrenson went to leave the interview room for a break, Fer did
01:13:17
something that no other suspect had ever done before. He apologized for not answering
01:13:23
her questions, acknowledging it must be tough for her. At this stage, the police went to
01:13:30
court to get an extension on their 24-hour deadline while Fer waited in the back of a police car with Officer
01:13:38
Larenson. She asked him how he was doing. Fer raised his hand as if holding something small and round and
01:13:48
replied, "Imagine a green juicy apple that looks lovely, but inside it is a worm." At Fer's next police interview,
01:14:02
he appeared smug as his solicitor delivered a prepared statement. He was willing to admit to operating a
01:14:10
dark web account under the username evil mind 4. Although this wasn't the 666 Devil
01:14:18
account central to the case, it was a crucial revelation. Unbeknownst to Fer, the NCA
01:14:26
had already linked Evil Mind 4 to 66 Devil during Operation Cam, proving they were the same person.
01:14:36
They also connected Evil Mind 4 to 70 other dark web aliases, including In the Garden, one of the 16 exclusive members
01:14:46
of Hurt to the Cause Producers Lounge before its closure. Fer's confession confirmed all
01:14:53
these accounts as his directly tying him to the related crimes. Authorities believed he had
01:15:02
victimized upwards of 300 people. Matthew Fer avoided a trial by ultimately pleading guilty to 137 of 188
01:15:14
potential charges, including pedophilia, blackmail, and voyerism. This admission cemented his
01:15:22
status as one of the UK's most prolific pedophiles. It took 35 minutes to read out all the
01:15:30
charges against him during his sentencing hearing in October 2017. In a UK first, the court
01:15:39
acknowledged the impact of online offending by allowing several of Fer's victim impact statements to be read
01:15:47
aloud. They thought about what Fer had done to them every single day and feared they would never recover from the damage
01:15:54
he had caused. Some were terrified of meeting or trusting new people. Others had been estranged by
01:16:03
friends and family who couldn't understand their actions and were left to view themselves as quote dirty, like
01:16:11
used goods. The court noted that many of Fer's victims would never have the chance to share their stories because
01:16:20
they had been only babies at the time of the abuse. The sentencing judge described Fer's
01:16:28
crimes as a tale of everinccreasing depravity in which his behavior was cunning, persistent, manipulative, and
01:16:37
cruel. They stated, "Time and time again, people begged you to stop. Time and time again, you ramped up the
01:16:47
pressure. You wanted to assume total control over these victims. Marking the first UK prosecution related
01:16:57
to sadistic hercore material found on the dark web. Matthew Fer was sentenced to 32 years in prison, followed by 6
01:17:06
years on license. This meant that after his release, he would serve the remainder of
01:17:12
his sentence under strict conditions in the community aimed at ensuring successful reintegration.
01:17:20
It was the longest prison sentence ever handed down to an online predator in the
01:17:26
UK. As Fer's 30th birthday approached in October 2018, he appealed his sentence,
01:17:34
arguing it was manifestly excessive given that he had pleaded guilty. After reviewing the case, three
01:17:42
judges at London's Court of Appeal concluded that the original sentencing judge had not given sufficient regard to
01:17:50
totality. To ensure a just and proper punishment for the severity of his crimes, the Court of Appeal reduced
01:17:57
Fer's prison sentence to 25 years, but increased his onlicence period to 8 years.
01:18:05
The outcome was disappointing to the investigators who had spent years tirelessly working to bring Fer to
01:18:13
justice. NCA branch commander Matthew Long told Prime Suspect, "I hope he never sees the light
01:18:21
of day because of what he did to people, but that's not my decision." Although virtual sexual offending like
01:18:33
Matthew Fers is non-cont, its psychological impact on victims is no less devastating. The pervasive nature of the
01:18:43
internet leaves victims feeling that no part of their lives is safe. Not their bedrooms, their homes, or even their
01:18:50
mobile phones. This constant fear isolates them, leaving them feeling like there's
01:18:57
no one they can turn to for help. One of Fer's victims explained, "At school, I wasn't talking
01:19:06
to my friends or thinking about what they were saying. I was just checking my phone to see if there was another
01:19:13
message. I couldn't concentrate on anything. I couldn't talk to my family because I felt ashamed of what I was
01:19:21
doing. I didn't want to talk to anyone. I didn't want to go out with my friends because he might be there. I didn't feel
01:19:29
safe anywhere. Even if he was standing next to me in the street, I wouldn't recognize them. That's what was scary,
01:19:38
not knowing who it was or when they might get bored and send the pictures to all of my friends.
01:19:46
Anyway, this type of sexual exploitation falls under the title of sextortion, offending that employs non-physical
01:19:54
forms of coercion to extort sexual favors from the victim. With the rise of the internet,
01:20:02
sexion is becoming increasingly common, but the NCA believes it is significantly
01:20:08
under reportported due to the shame associated with it. In many cases, victims end up taking
01:20:16
their own lives. Senior investigating officer Matt Sutton told Prime Suspect, "No one is immune to being
01:20:26
approached by somebody who's trying to exploit them in some way, shape, or form. Whether it be for sexual
01:20:32
gratification, for money, for anything, make sure that you know who you're talking to and you're happy to
01:20:40
share whatever they're asking for with that person. If you wouldn't share it with
01:20:45
your mother, don't put it online because it means it's something that can be used
01:20:50
against you and it's something that you will only ever live to learn to regret. The illicit dark web forums and
01:20:59
websites featured in this case file episode are now defunct, though many others like them remain active or are
01:21:07
created every day. Law enforcement officers within the National Crime Agency who helped bring
01:21:14
down Matthew Fer, liken their efforts to dismantle online pedophile networks to warfare.
01:21:22
Both sides are constantly developing new tactics, each striving to gain the upper
01:21:28
hand. Despite the seemingly endless battle, the NCA and their allies worldwide refuse to
01:21:36
surrender. In the words of NCA branch commander Matthew Long, for us, this has been a relentless
01:21:44
pursuit to catch Dr. Matthew Fer. But what saddened me is his relentless pursuit of the
01:21:52
victims. He would stop at nothing to exploit them, to make them feel sad, humiliated, or unhappy. And he didn't
01:22:00
really care in any way, shape, or form how that manifested. Ultimately, that has
01:22:07
devastated some people's lives, and I am very proud of our team and also those victims being able to stand up and stop
01:22:15
him. Matthew Fer will be eligible for release in 2043 at the age of 50. In her interview with prime suspect,
01:22:28
NCA lead interviewing officer Jane Lawren reflected on his potential for rehabilitation. Matthew Fer, will we see
01:22:38
him again? She asked herself. After a moment of quiet contemplation, she admitted, "I don't
01:22:48
know. To see what he's seen and done what he's done. How can you change so dramatically? I don't
01:22:58
know. I don't know. [Music]