Two women have been imprisoned for their part in a global monkey torture ring that paid for and ordered baby monkeys to be tortured and killed in Indonesia to create videos to be circulated online. Holly LeGresley, who was sentenced to two years, and Adriana Orme, who was sentenced to 15 months, both pleaded guilty to charges of publishing an obscene article and causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
The sentences have been welcomed by both Lady Freethinker and Action for Primates — who have spent over three years investigating the sadistic world of animal torture groups. The convictions are part of an international effort by law enforcement agencies in several countries, in particular the UK and the USA, to tackle those groups and individuals who facilitate the torture of baby monkeys. Several people in the USA are already serving prison sentences.
“The horrors being inflicted on innocent, baby monkeys for online videos are sickening, and strong actions must be taken to protect animals from such brutality at the hands of humans,” said Lady Freethinker Founder Nina Jackel. “Those involved in the creation or distribution of animal torture content for ‘enjoyment’ pose a threat to both animals and humans, and they must be held accountable.”
“We are extremely grateful to West Mercia Police for bringing these charges,” said Action for Primates Spokesperson Sarah Kite, who assisted the UK police with their investigation. “Anyone involved in this type of behavior must be held to account, and others need to know that such extreme cruelty and depravity will never be tolerated. We hope these sentences will deter others from becoming involved in these perverted and sadistic activities.”
LeGresley and Orme were members of a Telegram group run by Michael Macartney from Virginia, USA, who called himself ”the Torture King.” Macartney, who was recently sentenced to three years and four months in prison for conspiring to make and distribute “animal crush” videos, ran several online Telegram groups that facilitated the “torture, murder and sexually sadistic mutilation” of baby long-tailed macaques for “fun.” LeGresley, who called herself “The Immolator,” was an administrator of this group and even ran a poll for group members to vote on the method of torture they wanted to see inflicted upon a monkey for a video to be made, funded by the group. The choices included sealing a monkey inside a jar with red ants, applying a painful substance to the wounds created by a cheese grater or gluing together various parts of a monkey’s body.
The perverted “enjoyment” LeGresley and Orme obtained from watching baby monkeys brutally tortured and abused in the most sadistic ways is horrifying and evident in the sickening comments they made in group chats on Telegram:
Orme: “I love mental torture. It’s funny what you can reach and see how they change.”
“I would start fucking them up mentally, then slowly bit by bit physically, torture them, heal them, torture them, heal them. Keep them alive like this for as long as possible.”
“Yeah beatings or dragging and then feeding with its mouth taped lol.”
LeGresley: “I feel very satisfied when I see monkeys suffer too. It makes me happy.”
“I like it, the little rat got sliced up good and proper, and it survived long enough to suffer! whats the point in just killing them? Thats no fun.” “I wonder if they could simply lower a baby monkey into boiling water. I’d quite like to see one try to swim as it burns alive.”
Members of these online torture groups are primarily active on platforms such as Telegram and get “pleasure” from watching helpless and vulnerable infant monkeys – some just a few days old – in terror and pain fighting for their lives. The extreme cruelty inflicted upon the baby monkeys included being set alight; having parts of their body cut off, including limbs, genitals, fingers and toes; their bones broken with a hammer; their heads squeezed in a clamp; beaten viciously; and having their eyes drilled out with a power tool.
The evidence obtained during the investigations by Action for Primates, a UK-based project that advocates globally on behalf of non-human primates, and Lady Freethinker, a US-based animal protection organization, has been given to various law enforcement agencies and spurred the BBC investigation and documentary about online monkey torture gangs – “The Monkey Haters” – which helped lead to the inclusion of animal cruelty in the UK Online Safety Act.
Disturbingly, many graphic and violent videos paid for by members in Telegram groups – depicting extreme violence and sexual abuse inflicted upon baby monkeys, including genital mutilation – have appeared on mainstream social media platforms, such as Facebook. By allowing these people to operate and post monkey torture content, social media companies are facilitating criminal activity on their platforms.
