Following an investigation by Bavarian authorities, two teenagers from Hesse are in pre-trial detention over suspected serious offences against three girls. The Munich Public Prosecutor General’s Office and police announced the case on 11 November 2026. The suspects are said to belong to an online scene that glorifies violence and is known as the COM network .
According to investigators, the teenagers contacted a 13-year-old girl and two 14-year-old girls from Bavaria online in spring 2026. They are alleged to have manipulated and threatened the girls into performing sexual acts on themselves and injuring themselves. The girls were also reportedly told to film or photograph themselves doing so.
The Bavarian Central Office for the Prosecution of Extremism and Terrorism at the Munich Public Prosecutor General’s Office and the Augsburg Criminal Police are investigating, among other things, suspected membership of a criminal organisation, serious sexual abuse without physical contact, coercion, and possession of child sexual abuse material. These are allegations; the suspects are presumed innocent.
The investigation is being conducted in Bavaria, although the two teenagers are from Hesse. According to information published so far, the three girls affected are from Bavaria. The authorities did not say in the reports available when exactly the teenagers were arrested. Their pre-trial detention was confirmed on 11 November.
According to an analysis by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation the term COM refers to a loose association of various groups. The foundation describes cybercriminal activities, the production and sharing of depictions of the sexual abuse of minors, and violence as characteristics of the scene. Bavarian investigators view it as a network operating worldwide that deliberately approaches children and young people through social media and online games.
The current case should not be conflated with an investigation in Baden-Württemberg. There, the Karlsruhe Public Prosecutor General’s Office and police announced on 2 November 2026 that a 19-year-old from Tuttlingen district had been remanded in custody on suspicion of several serious offences. He is also alleged to have played a role in an online sadist community. The statements consulted did not establish any connection between the specific cases.
The distinction between the cases is essential to understanding them: the shared name for the scene does not in itself indicate whether the suspects knew one another or acted together. In the Bavarian case, investigators must establish the allegations against each of the two teenagers. The information made public so far does not allow any conclusions about guilt or about what further steps the justice system will take in the case.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).