Hamburg Juvenile Court Opens 'White Tiger' Trial in International Online-Exploitation Case

A juvenile court in Hamburg opened on Friday the trial of a 21-year-old man partly identified under German privacy rules as Shahriar J., accused of operating under the alias "White Tiger" and of orchestrating a widespread campaign of online grooming, coercion and exploitation of minors.

Outside the courthouse, the defendant's lawyer, Christiane Yueksel, said her client was attacked by other detainees shouting "White Tiger" while being transferred to court. The proceedings are being held behind closed doors because the suspect was a minor when many of the alleged crimes began.

Allegations and Scope of the Case

Prosecutors say Shahriar J. operated within an online network known as "764" and victimised more than 30 children across hundreds of incidents beginning in January 2021. Authorities allege he groomed vulnerable children and adolescents via chat platforms and gaming forums, encouraged them to produce sexually explicit material, and then used that material to extort, coerce or manipulate victims.

Among the most serious accusations is that the accused drove a 13-year-old transgender youth living near Seattle to take their own life in January 2022; that death was reportedly broadcast live. Prosecutors have filed 204 criminal charges against the defendant, including one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder.

Network And International Links

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has described the "764" network as an international child-exploitation enterprise and a "network of nihilistic violent extremists," and has made related arrests. Media reports link the network's name to a Texas ZIP code associated with its founder, who was arrested in 2023. Investigators say victims identified so far come from the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and the United States.

Delayed Reaction And Cross-Border Cooperation

The case has prompted public outrage and questions about whether authorities acted quickly enough. Reports say the U.S. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children alerted German authorities in 2021 about a Hamburg-based account using the name "White Tiger." An FBI investigator has also told the press he provided the suspect's identity to German law enforcement in February 2023.

Hamburg officials have cited the time required to analyse a large volume of seized data storage devices and the cross-border nature of victims and other suspects as complicating factors in the investigation.

Court Process And Potential Penalties

The defendant was arrested in a police raid on his parents' home on June 17, 2025, and has been held in pre-trial detention since. Court spokeswoman Marayke Frantzen said that if convicted, Shahriar J. could face between six months and 10 years in a juvenile detention facility. The Hamburg regional court has scheduled an initial 82 days of hearings running through December 17, 2026.

Yueksel, the defence lawyer, has described the charges as "experimental" and disputed their provability. Prosecutors say the evidence supports the wide range of allegations.

The trial has drawn attention to the growing challenge of policing online abuse across borders and the ethical and legal questions that arise when online predators target vulnerable young people. Reporting agencies cited in coverage include Der Spiegel, Die Zeit and statements from U.S. and German law enforcement.