A 26-year-old Spring man faces up to life in federal prison after pleading guilty to participating in an international child exploitation ring that targeted minors across three countries.

Kaleb Christopher Merritt pleaded guilty in a California federal court to one count of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise, the U.S. Department of Justice announced in March. Merritt served as an online administrator of a group called CVLT, pronounced "cult," which operated on platforms including Discord and Telegram.

Merritt is already serving a 33-year prison sentence in Virginia for a separate conviction. He remains in federal custody in Los Angeles.

U.S. District Judge Hernán D. Vera of the Central District of California scheduled Merritt's sentencing for Jan. 7, 2027. He faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years in federal prison and a maximum of life imprisonment.

A Paris court on Saturday, Oct. 10, sentenced co-defendant Rohan Rane, 29, to 20 years in prison, the maximum for the charges he faced. Rane was found guilty of sexual extortion and acts of torture against a minor, the Associated Press reported.

According to the DOJ, CVLT espoused neo-Nazism, nihilism and pedophilia as its core principles. The group's purpose was to coerce children into producing child sexual abuse material and to engage in self-harm. The DOJ said CVLT hurt at least five minor victims.

The federal indictment, first filed in January 2025, alleged the group harmed 16 minors "around the world," according to The Texan. CVLT targeted children in the United States, Britain and Canada.

Members joined as early as 2020 and served as leaders who hosted servers, controlled membership and directed victims during the creation of extortion videos, the DOJ said.

Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said in a March 26 statement that prosecutors would seek the longest possible sentence. "The only way to keep the public safe is to lock him up in prison for as long as possible, and that's exactly what we will fight for at sentencing," Essayli said.

Two other co-defendants have also pleaded guilty. Clint Jordan Lopaka Nahooikaika Borge, 42, of Pahoa, Hawaii, pleaded guilty in October 2025. Collin John Thomas Walker, 24, of Bridgeton, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in December 2025. Both remain in federal custody awaiting sentencing.

The investigation involved Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and law enforcement agencies in France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Europol.