Ex-drama pupil who became ‘traditional satanist’ jailed over ‘horrific’ material

A man jailed for terrorism offences said he made a ‘pact with the devil’ after police found ‘horrific’ materials on his phone.

Declan Candiani, 26, was arrested by counter-terrorism police at Stansted Airport as he was about to jet off on holiday to Finland with his girlfriend in August 2024.

A search of his phone and iPad found terror-related documents on the devices, including guides on how to commit ‘lone wolf’ attacks.

Officers also found a German imperial flag and what appeared to be a ram’s skull at his home in Streatham, south London.

In an interview, Candiani, a former Brit school pupil, said he had a ‘possessed mindset’ and that he had made ‘a pact with the devil’ to be a ‘minion’.

He admitted that he had been ‘overpowered’ by the ideology in a way that he ‘couldn’t control’ and had developed an ‘unhealthy obsession’ with satanist group Order of Nine Angles.

In evidence to the Old Bailey, he said he saw a ‘red-horned devil’ in his bedroom which ordered him to worship it.

The former drama student also confessed he had the number ’88’ tattooed on his chest – the Nazi code for ‘heil Hitler’, the BBC reported.

Insisting to jurors he had no interest in carrying out terror attacks, he suggested he must have downloaded the content, which also included manifestos of mass killers, ‘inadvertently’.

He said he had applied to extremist right-wing group Active Club, but then withdrew his request after getting ‘cold feet’.

A jury found him guilty of two counts of collecting information likely to be of use to a terrorist.

George-Candiani was also found not guilty on two further counts of the same offence.

The 26-year-old was today sentenced to 23 months in prison as well as another year on licence.

He will then be subject to notification requirements for a further ten years.

Commander Dominic Murphy, the chief of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: ‘This is another example of why ‘schedule 7’ powers at our ports and borders are so important in helping us to identify potential terrorist activity.

‘In this case, analysis of digital devices revealed downloads of horrific material promoted by extreme right-wing terrorist groups, as well as extremely dangerous material about carrying out attacks and other acts of extreme violence.’

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