A woman in the US, who was behind a sadistic global ring that shared "crush" videos of monkey being tortured, has been arrested, the US Attorney's Office said on Wednesday. Nicole Danielle Devilbiss, 35, has been charged with conspiracy to create and distribute such videos that were shared in a group of about 60 people on an instant messaging platform. If convicted, the maximum sentence could be five years behind bars, the Attorney's Office said. The woman told the police that she got a "sick thrill imagining the animals' pain".
She also confessed to helping run a Telegram group that distributes the shocking footage.
Devilbiss was arrested on October 31 after a multi-state investigation.
The US Attorney General's Office defined animal crushing as "actual conduct in which one or more living non-human mammals, birds, reptiles, or amphibians, is purposely crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled, or otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury".
In a statement posted on the website, the US legal office said, "According to court documents, an investigation into a group on a mobile phone application revealed users were arranging the creation and sharing of videos depicting animal crush videos involving primates."
It added that the group chat was dedicated to the abuse, torture, and death of monkeys of various ages.
"The investigation identified Devilbiss as one of the administrators of the group and determined that she removed people from the group, commented on the abuse of the primates in the videos, and shared videos depicting primates being tortured," the Attorney's Office said.
Court filings accessed by jacksonville.com said that Devilbiss paid a user called "Mister Ape" an initial $20 (Rs 1,666) to remain in the group last year, then another $40 (Rs 3,332) to another person collecting money that helped pay to produce videos in Indonesia.
Making and distributing crush videos, which revolve around hurting or killing animals for entertainment, has been a federal crime since 2010. The US Congress had voted in 2019 to ban extreme animal cruelty whether it's used in videos or not.
