San Fernando Valley man arrested by FBI for alleged possession of child pornography
LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- A San Fernando Valley man was arrested Thursday on a federal charge alleging he targeted children for sexual exploitation online as part of his role in a digital network described as violent and aimed at forcing minors and other vulnerable individuals to commit sex-related crimes and self- harm.
Jose Henry Ayala Casamiro, 28, was arrested by the FBI on a criminal complaint charging him with possession of child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
He made his initial appearance Thursday in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles, where a federal magistrate judge ordered him jailed without bond and an April 22 arraignment date was scheduled.
"The facts alleged in this complaint are disturbing," U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, who was sworn in Wednesday as the top federal prosecutor for the Central District of California, said in a statement. "Criminals lurk in the internet's dark corners to prey on and do lasting damage to children. Let this arrest serve as notice to all online predators. We will find you and arrest you if you hurt children."
According to an affidavit, Ayala caused minors to produce child sexual abuse material as well as other video content depicting themselves engaging in self-harm as part of his participation in an online network known as 764.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the decentralized and transnational network consists of extremists who engage in sextortion and other criminal conduct in furtherance of goals derived from "a hatred of society at large and a desire to bring about its collapse by sowing indiscriminate chaos, destruction and social instability."
As part of the 764 network, Ayala allegedly was involved with an online group that blackmailed underage girls into creating child pornography videos depicting themselves engaging in degrading sadistic sexual acts, torture sessions and carving their abusers' initials or names on their bodies, federal prosecutors allege.
The group also allegedly encouraged female minors to commit suicide. As an example, the criminal complaint details a March 2020 photo in which an individual had cut the defendant's name "Henry" into their right forearm. The complaint also outlines four videos that allegedly depict Ayala directing teen girls to engage in specific sexual acts. The complaint also alleges that for the past two months, Ayala participated in a new server created as a "grooming pool" targeting underage girls.
