A man found guilty of creating and distributing gruesome monkey torture videos online under the username “DemonSwordSoulCrusher” has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison. Once his time in prison is complete, he will have a supervised release for three additional years, according to a press release from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).
Ronald Bedra, 42, was a leader in an underground group called “Million Tears” — which Lady Freethinker (LFT) and Action for Primates (AfP) first uncovered in 2021.
Members of Million Tears paid for their “own private monkey” to be filmed while being tortured through their chosen method, or several members made smaller contributions towards a fee for their “share” of a “community monkey,” which allowed group members to put in requests for depraved acts of cruelty and torture to be inflicted and decide how the monkey was to be killed.
The commissioned videos included defenseless animals “having digits and limbs severed and being forcibly sodomized with a heated screwdriver,” the DOJ reported. In one instance, Bedra mailed a thumb drive of over 60 videos of monkeys being tortured, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Ohio. Both adult and baby monkeys were the victims of these unthinkable acts.
After exposing the sadistic group, LFT and AfP turned evidence of “Million Tears” abuses over to the authorities, including videos and screenshots of chats from Bedra and other group members.
“As this case shows, even if you do not commit the torture firsthand, you will be held accountable for promoting this obscene animal abuse,” Southern District of Ohio Attorney Kenneth L. Parker said in a statement about the case.
This news follows other recent monkey torture prosecutions, including cases in the U.S. and the U.K. LFT applauds authorities for pursuing justice for the innocent, defenseless animals victims, and hopes strong sentencing will deter others from committing such heart-wrenching abuse.
“Such appalling conduct has no place in our society,” Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim said in a press release. “The Justice Department stands ready to prosecute individuals engaging in this activity to the fullest extent of the law.”
