Young girls being groomed on Roblox and forced into committing ‘unspeakable’ acts

Elijah Palmer was on the hunt for a victim when he first reached out to Ania* over the online gaming platform Roblox. He pretended to approach the young teen as a friend, luring her away to the messaging site Discord. There, he groomed her into committing a series of haunting and sadistic acts, blackmailing her into cutting his online username handle into her skin and sending him sexual images.

He made threats to her and her family, and even told her that if she refused, he would send a manufactured bomb threat to a local school under an email address in her name.His sickening demands were made as part of an increasingly extreme quest for “clout” among a group of similarly violent-minded boys and young men. These groups, known collectively as Com networks, deliberately target vulnerable victims, usually young girls, to extort them for sadomasochistic “content” to share with other members of the network.

open image in galleryElijah Palmer blackmailed a teenage girl into self-harming and producing sexually-explicit images of herself (Crown Prosecution Service)Palmer was jailed for four years and nine months after pleading guilty to a slew of offences, including encouraging or assisting serious self-harm, causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, and making indecent photographs of children at Sheffield Crown Court last month. Speaking to The Independent, the National Crime Agency (NCA) warned that Com networks are a “deeply concerning” threat that transcends national borders and are causing “unprecedented” and “severe” harm to young girls.The groups are a “priority” for the Five Eyes intelligence group, which brings together law enforcement agencies from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the US.

Rob Richardson, who is the NCA’s threat lead for Com networks, said the agency was currently investigating around 200 cases involving Com networks, with reports of the abuse up by 2,900 per cent since 2022.Because of the relatively recent identification of the threat, Mr Richardson explained it is impossible to tell whether this explosion in referrals reflects a rapid growth, or whether offenders are simply being identified more successfully.But he said Com networks represented a unique challenge.

“This is children who are drawn into harmful places online, who are causing this harm to other children,” he said. “Our worry is the severity of the harm”. Members of Com groups such as 764, which Palmer had joined, target young girls in particularly vulnerable online spaces, including forums for those with eating disorders or who are self-harming.

They have been known to coerce and groom victims as young as 11 into seriously harming or sexually abusing themselves, siblings or pets. Pictures and videos of these disturbing acts are then shared with the group as the offender seeks notoriety, and tips on how to “extort” victims are shared through “lore books”.Discord and Telegram are the two platforms that appear the most in cases, according to Mr Richardson.

Both are not currently understood to be included in the government’s social media ban for under-16s because they are seen as messaging apps rather than social media platforms. The government told The Independent its social media ban is “only one set of measures to keep children safe” and that platforms have duties under the Online Safety Act. Some gaming apps are also believed to be ways that boys are being drawn into the networks.

Palmer is not the first Com network member to face justice in a UK court. In 2025, 19-year-old Cameron Finnigan pleaded guilty to encouraging suicide, possessing a terrorism manual, and indecent images of a child. He was also a member of 764, and was jailed for six years.

open image in galleryParents are being urged to understand their child’s online life (Getty)Mr Richardson described Com groups as a “gendered threat”. He said the boys involved are usually lonely, socially isolated individuals who struggle to form relationships in real life and spend much of their lives online – a pattern seen with both Palmer and Finnigan.These boys are then captured by extreme, nihilistic content that is repeatedly fed to them through social media algorithms, pulling them into the murky corners where Com networks operate Mr Richardson said.

He added that content linked to the “manosphere”, which promotes male supremacy and aggressive masculinity, is one of the pathways identified as a common route to Com networks.“A lot of this content is on the clear web, it isn’t necessarily on the dark web, so it’s quite easy to identify,” he said. “It generates a sense of grievance amongst these young men.

That bleak view of their own existence drives some of these young people into harmful spaces online.”Mr Richardson said he believes tech companies should take more responsibility for promoting this sadistic content to young men: “Once you show an interest in this then the algorithms kick in and it shows more and more of this harmful content.“I