A North Carolina man admitted in court yesterday that he helped run an online group dedicated to making and sharing violent videos of monkeys being tortured.
Robert Craig, of Charlotte, pleaded guilty to charges involving “animal crush videos.” These are videos where small animals are hurt or killed for viewers to watch.
According to court papers, Craig didn’t work alone.
He conspired with others to pay for these videos to be made. The group used private, encrypted chat apps to send money to people in Indonesia. In exchange, those individuals would torture baby and adult monkeys on camera.
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Craig signed a statement admitting that he shared a video where a monkey was mutilated. Other videos traded by the group showed even worse cruelty, including sexual abuse of the animals.
Officials from the Justice Department, the FBI, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the plea. The case was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who worked together to uncover the network.
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