Swedish Teenager Jailed for Online Attempted Murder, Rape and Assault

The district court found that Chai, 18, was active in online networks known for the sadistic extortion of young and vulnerable people, coercing them to produce sexually explicit material or carry out acts of violence. He was between 15 and 17 when the offences took place.

He was convicted of two counts of attempted murder against a young person in Germany and of multiple sexual and violent offences against a teenage girl in Australia, among other charges.

Jenny Östling, a senior public prosecutor at Sweden's national unit against international and organised crime, said the court had understood the phenomenon of "nihilistic violent extremism" and the Com, an umbrella term for a loosely connected online network involved in cybercrime, extortion and violence. "I'm really glad that they realise how serious this is and what it is," she said.

Östling said the sentence was among the longest available in Sweden for a person of Chai's age. The court also held that a person can be convicted of violent offences committed remotely over the internet, which she said was a very important tool when prosecutors proceed with such cases.

Crimes linked to sadistic extortion networks, including one known globally as 764, often cross borders, with cases recorded in the United States, Britain, Germany and Australia and alleged victims in several jurisdictions. Lawyers and researchers told the Guardian that material is often made and traded among participants to build status and control, as well as to gain access to closed servers and chatrooms.

"These are young people recruiting other young people," Bjørn Ihler, founder of the security firm Revontulet, said. "It is a youth phenomenon."

Chai's conviction is one of several cases that have produced substantial prison terms for young men found to be involved in the ecosystem. Kyle Spitze, a 27-year-old American, was sentenced in August to 77 years, the longest federal sentence imposed on someone the US government has labelled a nihilistic violent extremist.

During the trial, a forensic psychiatric examination found that Chai was not suffering from a serious mental disorder when the offences occurred. His lawyer, Emily Tovedal, told the Guardian that the defence believed the court had made an error of judgment on a large proportion of the charges.

Authorities in several countries have raised alarms about the sadistic online exploitation of young people, citing warning signs that include self-harm and isolation. Östling said she expected such networks to expand. "Sadly, I'm confident that ... they will probably grow," she said. "And we will also be aware of more of them, because now we know what to look for."