Leader of a neo-Nazi child abuse network on trial in Paris

Rohan Rane, a 29-year-old Indian citizen, is standing trial in France on charges of torture or acts of barbarity against minors, organized extortion, and distributing material depicting child sexual abuse. The investigation describes him as the leader of a group that allegedly targeted numerous girls, most of them minors, in several countries.

Rane came to France to study at a business school in Antibes, in the southeast of the country, and later became a fitness trainer. If found guilty, he faces life imprisonment.

According to investigators, the victims were allegedly from the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Estonia. The suspects, men from Germany, New Zealand, and the United States, communicated on the Discord platform, where they allegedly distributed material and coordinated the group’s actions.

Investigators claim that the group’s members promoted racist and antisemitic views and displayed hostility toward feminists and the LGBT+ community. The trial concerns determining Rane’s role and the responsibility of the other suspects in the alleged abuses.

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