Federal authorities have recently taken action against two more individuals tied to online groups that created and shared videos depicting monkeys being tortured, mutilated, and sexually abused.
One of the cases involves Francisco Javier Ravelo, a 36-year-old man from Coral Gables, Florida, who pleaded guilty to distributing “animal crush” videos and is facing up to seven years in prison.
Court records indicate that Ravelo established and operated online chat groups devoted to sharing and discussing graphic videos of baby and adult monkeys being burned, skewered, having their genitals mutilated, and subjected to other extreme abuse. He reportedly distributed over 40 of these horrific videos.
In a separate case, Joseph Garrett Buckland of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, was charged with conspiracy to create and distribute “animal crush” videos.
Buckland is accused of participating in an online group that pooled money to pay a videographer in Indonesia to produce the torture videos, including requests for specific acts of abuse. Authorities allege that Buckland sent 10 payments ranging from $90 to $100 to commission the videos and, on other occasions, solicited and collected funds from others before forwarding the money to the videographer.
According to federal prosecutors, Buckland used an online messaging app in February 2025 to share a video more than an hour long showing a monkey being violently tortured. Police say he went on to distribute similar videos at least two more times.
Lady Freethinker and Action for Primates first exposed underground networks producing horrific torture videos of baby monkeys in 2021 after uncovering a private online group that commissioned custom abuse videos. Evidence gathered through those investigations helped inform the BBC documentary “The Monkey Haters” and has been shared with law enforcement agencies around the world.
Since then, numerous individuals linked to these networks have been charged and convicted. While the suffering inflicted on these monkeys cannot be undone, continued vigilance and public action can help dismantle the communities that profit from this cruelty.
LFT is grateful to the federal and international law enforcement agencies investigating and prosecuting those responsible for producing and distributing these disturbing videos. We remain committed to exposing this abuse and fighting to end the exploitation of animals everywhere.
