A man from Coral Gables, Florida, has been sentenced to 60 months in prison and three years of supervised release for owning and administering online chat groups that shared and discussed graphic videos of monkeys being tortured, mutilated, and sexually abused, according to the Department of Justice.
Francisco Javier Ravelo pleaded guilty in March to distributing “animal crush” videos showing baby and adult monkeys being burned, skewered, having their genitals mutilated, and suffering other extreme forms of abuse. He personally shared over 40 of these disturbing videos.
The court said the sentence was intended to send a message that society will not tolerate the distribution of this type of material and to deter others in the monkey hate community from committing similar offenses.
Lady Freethinker and Action for Primates first exposed the horrific, underground world of baby monkey torture in 2021 after investigating a private group paying for custom videos online. Evidence gathered through those investigations contributed to the BBC documentary “The Monkey Haters” and has been shared with law enforcement across the globe.
Since that time, numerous individuals involved with these groups have been charged and convicted. The harm inflicted on these monkeys cannot be undone, but continued vigilance and public action can help bring an end to the cruelty.
The suffering these defenseless monkeys endured is unimaginable. Lady Freethinker remains committed to uncovering this abuse and pursuing justice for every animal victim by holding those responsible accountable.
