Paris (France) (AFP) – An Indian man went on trial in Paris on Monday, accused of running a neo-Nazi child exploitation ring in which young girls were allegedly coerced into performing sexual acts online and engaging in self-harm.

The group is believed to have abused numerous young girls, most of them minors, in countries including the United States, the Netherlands, Britain and Estonia.

Investigators say the victims were targeted by a group of men from Germany, New Zealand and the United States who communicated on the popular messaging platform Discord. They espoused racist and anti-Semitic views and expressed hostility toward feminists and the LGBT+ community.

Rohan Rane, a 29-year-old Indian national who came to France to study at a business school in the southeastern city of Antibes before becoming a fitness coach, is described by investigators as the group's leader.

He is being tried on charges including torture or acts of barbarity against minors, organised extortion and dissemination of child sexual abuse material. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.

The case was triggered in November 2020 by a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The US child protection organisation discovered online images of a 12-year-old girl with her chest exposed while another user encouraged her to carve the name "Rohan" into her body.

Five American women, aged 18 to 21, have joined the case as civil parties and were expected to testify by video link this week.

According to a court document released by the US Department of Justice, the internet-based group dubbed CVLT espoused "neo-Nazism, nihilism, and paedophilia as its core principles."

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