A Michigan man who admitted to exploiting a girl was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in prison in an investigation into a sinister online community that pressures children to commit self-harm and create images of sexual abuse.
Richard Densmore operated chat rooms as a member of 764, an international group that targets children online, especially those with mental health issues, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
“This group seeks to inflict unspeakable harm on children to achieve their goals of destroying civilized society, fomenting civil unrest and ultimately collapsing government institutions,” Assistant Attorney General Matt Olsen told reporters.
Densmore, 47, was handed the maximum sentence by U.S. District Judge Hala Jarbou during an appearance in federal court in Lansing.
“It is actually very difficult to overstate the depravity of Mr. Densmore’s crime and the threat that criminal networks like 764 pose,” said Mark Totten, the U.S. attorney in western Michigan.
Densmore pleaded guilty in July to sexual exploitation of a child and acknowledged receiving a video of a naked girl with his nickname written on her chest. In a lawsuit, the government said he had more victims and that his actions made him a “sensation” among allies.
Attorney Christopher Gibbons did not immediately return a message seeking comment after the sentencing. In a court filing, he said Densmore, an Army veteran, openly admitted his wrongdoing.
“He has not minimized the magnitude and wrongfulness of his conduct,” Gibbons wrote.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Townshend said Densmore and others bragged about images of children cutting and abusing themselves, “which they treated as trophies, social currency and as leverage to extort children in a cycle of continued abuse.”
