PASCO COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office is warning parents about the dangers of what lurks online. The warning comes after the sheriff said an “online cult” led deputies to arrest a 13-year-old boy last Friday.

The 13-year-old is accused of having possession of child porn and bestiality. The sheriff’s office said this started on video game chat rooms. Last month, they received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about a Discord group with several people.

“On this Discord group, there were several people on there, encouraging a young girl to cut herself and harm herself,” said Sheriff Chris Nocco.

Nocco said the group was called a “Live Cut Show.” The IP address led them to a 13-year-old in Pasco County. Deputies said the boy admitted to encouraging two other minors to cut themselves.

“The 13-year-old was also in possession of documentation of instructions for committing mass murder, other violent attacks, building bombs, and then concealing evidence,” Nocco said.

The sheriff said this is a global issue and they know there are others out there. He said this starts on gaming platforms.

“They go through games such a Roblox, Minecraft, or any gaming that has an online chat. They’ll try to create a rapport with them and ask them to go on another chat room when they’ll ask for explicit videos. And this is where sextortion comes in,” Nocco said. “This is an online cult… They place no value on human life; they use satanic and Neo-Nazi ideology. They idolize school shooters… They encourage kids to harm themselves, or worse, to commit suicide. They actually want them to video tape it.”

The sheriff said sextortion is one of the hardest things deputies have to deal with because it’s so hidden, but said if parents intervene, it can make all the difference.

“I know all children are at risk, because all children have devices,” said Diane York with the Pasco Kids First Children’s Advocacy Center.

She said parents need to realize the dangers and get involved with what their kids are doing online.

“It’s in the chat rooms that somebody can pretend to be another child and start the grooming process,” York said. “So unfortunately, if this 13-year-old stumbled across this group, they were probably being taught and groomed to do what they wanted to do, wanted him to do.”

The sheriff’s office said it wants to see where the case leads as it is active, and investigators want to save other victims and hold people accountable. Nocco said he needs parents to do their part before it ever gets to this.

“It’s very tough, but I’m begging you, because what’s even tougher and harder is the fact that they become a victim and you could prevent it,” Nocco said.

Pasco Kids First advises parents to check the privacy settings on the games their kids are playing. They said parents should show interest in what kids are doing and remind them the internet can be forever, so be careful of what you share. York also said to get kids off the devices for a while and help them have real interactions with people.

“It is very important that parents know what is going on on their children’s platforms, even kids’ YouTube. It’s very important that there is an open conversation of how they are using the internet,” York said.