A 16-year-old boy has appeared in court charged with encouraging the rape and self-harm of vulnerable individuals online after developing a 'fascination' with a group called the Maniacs Murder Cult.
The teenager, from Cambridge, who cannot be named because of his age, is accused of sending messages to 12 other members of a group he created on the Telegram social media app.
The messages were 'encouraging the rape and self-harm of another, aimed specifically at vulnerable individuals online,' the Old Bailey was told.
Lisa Goddard, prosecuting, told the court that the teenager had been 'involved in extreme right-wing activity online and in real life', downloading videos, joining chat groups and sharing photos of himself dressed in neo-Nazi outfits and making a Nazi salute.
He was said to have a 'particular fascination' with the Maniacs Murder Cult (MMC) which has links to a banned far-right terrorist group called No Lives Matter, and encourages the sharing of images of child abuse, violent pornography and sexual exploitation.
In April last year police seized a phone and digital devices from the teenager, during a search in which they noted that his bedroom walls featured hand drawn swastikas.
There was also a document titled A Call to Arms which was a six-page pdf said to be useful to a terrorist, covering mental preparations for an attack, how to assess targets and providing further reading material.
Police found 60,000 images on his devices including a number in category A, the most serious, and category B, of indecent images, as well as one of extreme pornography.
He was charged with possession of indecent images and bailed but over the summer graffiti appeared on walls near his home, linked to a terrorist network.
At the end of January 2026, police undertook a bail check and found him in possession of cannabis resin, a t-shirt with the hand drawn slogan 'Rape Evry1' and Nazi symbols, and empty spray cans.
Social media applications had been installed in contravention of his bail conditions and he had 86,000 images, including a handbook associated with the MMC group.
The manual allegedly offered ideological and practical tips for preparing an act of terrorism, emphasising infiltration and psychological manipulation.
The prosecution said he had created a group on the Telegram app, on which he was described as the 'owner' which he allegedly used to target vulnerable individuals.
There were also a number of 'images of concern' including an image of the teenager in black making the symbols MMC with his hand and cutting the throat of a soft toy.
The teenager is charged with encouraging or assisting serious self-harm by another and intentionally encouraging or assisting in the commission of an indictable offence.
He is also charged with two counts of possession of a terrorist document, two counts of making indecent images of a child, one count of possession of an extreme pornographic image, two charges of criminal damage under and the possession of cannabis resin.
He appeared at the Old Bailey by video link from local authority accommodation wearing a black hooded top.
He has been ordered not to have unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 or with members of his family over 'concerns about the exploitation of young people.'
The teenager is to stand trial at the same court in November this year.