‘Cut Deeper:’ Man Blackmailed NJ Teen Girl To Self-Harm, Prosecutor Says

EGG HARBOR TWP., NJ — A South Jersey man with ties to the Nihilistic Violent Extremist network "764" was charged with cyberstalking after threatening a teen girl online and urging her to self-harm, Acting U.S. Attorney and Special Attorney Alina Habba said.

Marek Cherkaoui, 21, was taken into custody Friday, and has a history of making comments online espousing violence and ideology linked to the 764 network, Habba said. Cherkaoui has made comments discussing terroristic acts, soliciting child sex abuse material from minors and more. He also said he wanted to join terrorist group ISIS

Cherkaoui's cyberstalking victim was a 13-year-old girl in Passaic County, according to a criminal complaint. He began communicating with her online between November and December of 2024 and urged her to cut herself or he and another person would "dox" her, or post personal identifying information online to encourage harassment.

The girl did self-harm on two occasions for Cherkaoui, telling police that she was afraid of being doxxed.

"Not deep enough press harder next time," Cherkaoui commented to her on one occasion, according to the criminal complaint. "I know you're young but the other girls still do better than you."

After the second self-harm incident, the girl deleted her accounts and Cherkaoui doxxed her, documents show. However, some of the information he shared was incorrect, according to federal officials.

Cherkaoui's history of making violent comments was outlined in the criminal complaint.

"Not deep enough. Cut deeper," Cherkaoui commented to one person, according to a criminal complaint. He would also threaten to "dox" certain people if they did not self-harm the way he wanted.

He told another "You need to slit.your.wrists." and told the person to send photos or he would "make [their] life miserable," according to the criminal complaint.

"Nothing is stopping me from ambushing you, slicing up your greasy meatsuit, and laying your head on the floor," Cherkaoui commented to that same individual, according to federal documents.

In other online posts, Cherkaoui expressed his support for pedophilia, documents show.

"It's not illegal to be a pedophile. I just want a 13yo trad wife," he wrote to another person, adding "Just because it's illegal doesn't always mean it's wrong."

Cherkaoui also solicited nude photos from underage girls for himself and on behalf of others, federal officials said.

He also posted his support for mass shooters and purchased items relating to terroristic attacks, including books on how to make explosives, body armor, tactical clothing and zip tie handcuffs, records show.

Cherkaoui's home was searched by police on June 24, 2025, where items were seized and his phone and person were searched. In one note, Cherkaoui expressed suicidal thoughts, and said "First, I need to make my life count by taking others with me."

After the search, records show that Cherkaoui bought a new cellphone and continued making threatening posts online.

"Society needs to be forced to change," he wrote in one post. "And if it doesn't burn it down."

The count of cyberstalking a minor victim carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, up to a $250,000 fine and up to three years of supervised release. If convicted, a federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.