On Thursday, a federal judge in Grand Rapids, Michigan, sentenced Richard Densmore, a 47-year-old Army veteran, to 30 years in federal prison for his involvement with the criminal network known as 764. Densmore was apprehended in late January at a residence in Kaleva, Michigan, where he resided with his grandmother. Following his arrest, he pleaded guilty in July to a single charge of sexually exploiting a child.
The criminal network 764, along with its various offshoots, has rapidly expanded since its inception by Texas teenager Bradley Cadenhead in 2020. The network now faces scrutiny in numerous criminal cases across at least seven U.S. states, as well as international incidents reported in Brazil, Canada, and several European nations. Cadenhead is currently serving a lengthy prison sentence in Texas for crimes involving child sexual abuse imagery.
Due to its connections to extremist ideologies, including neofascist accelerationism and the Order of Nine Angles, the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI have classified 764 as a “tier one” terrorism threat. This classification reflects the group’s potential to pose significant dangers to national and economic security. A federal law enforcement official indicated that 764-related cases have been observed in every U.S. field office, with approximately ten cases referred for investigation weekly.
In the wake of Densmore’s sentencing, Assistant Attorney General Matt Olsen of the National Security Division publicly identified 764 as a serious extremist threat. Olsen articulated the group’s disturbing objectives, stating, “This group seeks to do unspeakable harm to children to advance their goals of destroying civilized society, fomenting civil unrest, and ultimately collapsing U.S. Government institutions.”
764 is notorious for exploiting children through coercive tactics rooted in intimidation. Federal officials have reported that the organization uses compromising photographs, personal data, and threats of public exposure to manipulate minors into sexual exploitation or self-harm. Olsen added that many members of the network have a grotesque end goal of forcing victims to commit suicide on livestream for the group’s amusement or for the perpetrator’s notoriety.
As the profile of 764 continues to rise, the implications for cybersecurity become increasingly vital. Organizations must be aware of the online risks associated with child exploitation networks that operate in a clandestine manner. The MITRE ATT&CK framework offers insights into potential tactics and techniques that could have been employed by adversaries within such networks. Techniques pertinent to this scenario may include initial access through social engineering, persistence via the manipulation of victim data, and privilege escalation strategies to further exploit vulnerabilities among network participants.
The actions of groups like 764 underscore the necessity for robust cybersecurity measures, particularly for platforms frequented by vulnerable populations. The intersection of criminal behavior and technology necessitates a proactive stance among business owners to safeguard both their interests and the communities they serve from the pervasive threats posed by such networks.
