A Canadian teenage girl died by suicide after being groomed online by the extremist group 764, which encouraged her to film herself attempting to kill her family's cat. Jason Solokowski said his daughter Penelope, 15, took her own life in February last year, three days before her 16th birthday, following sustained manipulation by the group.
Father describes descent into horror
Solokowski, from British Columbia, told CTV News that the group turned his life into an 'insane horror movie'. He recounted finding Penelope in the bathroom with cuts on her legs and seeking medical help. The abuse escalated over time, with the group pressuring her to film harmful acts. 'There is video of my daughter trying to kill my cat, which got sent to me by members of the group,' he said.
Penelope's father believes there were three to four other suicide attempts, possibly livestreamed on platforms like Twitch or Discord. He alleged that the grooming began on Roblox, which Penelope joined when she was around seven or eight. 'As a dad I thought, oh, this is nice, she's artistic, and she's made artistic friends,' Solokowski told the New York Post. 'But I didn't understand what Roblox was and its effect on her.'
Signs of grooming and self-harm
Penelope's grades slipped as a teenager, and she began self-harming at age 14. She admitted to her father that a self-harm group recruited her through Roblox but claimed she had left. After her death, Solokowski discovered about two years of messages on her phone with an individual who encouraged self-mutilation. In one exchange, Penelope sent a photo of the person's Discord username written on her bloodied chest.
'They are grooming girls to do whatever it is they can get a girl to do, whether it's nudes or cuts or gore or violence,' Solokowski said. 'She was brainwashed all the way through.'
Roblox responds
Roblox stated it was 'deeply troubled by any incident that endangers any user' and noted it is constantly improving safety tools and platform restrictions. The company added, 'We also understand that no system is perfect and that is why we are constantly working to further improve our safety tools and platform restrictions to ensure parents can trust us to help keep their children safe online.'
Family's vigilance not enough
Solokowski remembered Penelope as a creative person who saw beauty in everything. He and Penelope's mother tried to monitor her online activity, using a parenting app and checking in on her. Despite this, the grooming continued. 'They are grooming and teaching children how to do as much chaos and damage within their home and their community and the institutions that they go to, before they ultimately do an act of violence on themselves or someone else,' he said.
Solokowski believes social media is 'just as dangerous to children' as other vices. 'We don't let kids drive cars, use guns, drink alcohol,' he noted.
FBI and RCMP warnings
The FBI has described the 764 network as a 'violent online group made-up of individuals who seek to coerce and manipulate children into engaging in unspeakable acts against themselves, animals, and other children, even suicide.' In December, the Department of Justice announced that Alexis Aldair Chavez, a leader of a related group, pleaded guilty to racketeering and child exploitation. Chavez had coerced a female minor to torture and kill a cat on a live video call in December 2023, among other acts.
In Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police warned they are 'seeing more and more acts of this group online.' RCMP constable Marie-Pierre Guertin called it 'a global phenomenon especially linked to the English-speaking population.'
If you or someone you know needs help, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US on 988. There is also an online chat available at 988lifeline.org.
