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German prosecutors have charged a 21-year-old man with hundreds of offences, including murder, over the livestreamed suicide of a 13-year-old American boy whom he allegedly coerced online.
The suspect, a German-Iranian national from Hamburg known by the pseudonym “White Tiger,” is accused of running a global network of online sexual abuse and manipulation involving more than 30 children.
Prosecutors in Hamburg announced on Wednesday that he faces 204 criminal charges, including one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder, all allegedly committed as an “indirect perpetrator.”
Authorities said the crimes occurred between January 2021 and September 2023, when the accused was aged between 16 and 19.
They believe he groomed vulnerable children and teenagers through online chats and gaming platforms, gaining their trust before coercing them into creating pornographic material and inflicting harm upon themselves during video calls.
Among his alleged victims was a 13-year-old boy from the United States, who took his life in 2022 while broadcasting the act live after being manipulated by the suspect.
The man was arrested at his parents’ home in Hamburg in June.
Police seized illegal weapons — including knives, brass knuckles, and a baton — as well as computers and hard drives that remain under forensic analysis.
Investigators have so far identified eight victims aged between 11 and 15 from Germany, the UK, Canada, and the US.
The case has sparked outrage in Germany and raised serious questions over whether authorities could have intervened sooner to prevent further abuse.
According to Die Zeit, the US-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) alerted German authorities as early as 2021 to a suspected predator operating under the alias “White Tiger.”
The organisation reportedly shared a 40-page report containing Discord chat logs in which the man demanded explicit images from two young girls and encouraged them to harm or kill themselves.
Although police questioned the suspect at the time, he was not detained until this year.
Prosecutors have confirmed that the forthcoming criminal proceedings will take place behind closed doors due to the sensitivity of the case and the involvement of minors.
