Two women in the UK have been jailed for their involvement in a “sadistic” global network in which people paid money to individuals in Indonesia to torture and kill baby long-tailed macaques.
On Wednesday, Judge James Burbidge, KC, jailed Adriana Orme, 56, for 15 months and Holly LeGresley, 37, for two years for sharing hundreds of obscene images and videos of animal cruelty, and for paying money to commission acts of abuse against the animals.
The documentary, “The Monkey Haters,” aired in June 2023 revealed that hundreds of people across the UK, Australia, the United States, and other countries were paying people in Indonesia—sometimes thousands of pounds—to torture and kill small monkeys on camera.
Worcester Crown Court was told that both women were part of a private online chat group run by an administrator in the United States known as the “Torture King.”
LeGresley, of Baldwin Road, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, was the archivist of the private group. She admitted to uploading 22 images and 132 videos of primates being tortured between March 25 and May 8, 2022. She also admitted that on April 25, 2022, she had made a payment to a PayPal account to encourage cruelty.
Dutch-born Orme, of The Beeches, Ryall, near Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire, had pleaded guilty in August to publishing an obscene article by uploading 26 videos and one image of monkeys being tortured between April 14 and June 16, 2022.
‘Depraved, Sickening and Wicked’
Sentencing the two women on Wednesday, the judge said he was “almost in disbelief” at the evidence he had seen.Addressing LeGresley and Orme, Burbidge said, “These offences represent a course of conduct by you both that can only be described as depraved, sickening and wicked.”
Burbidge continued: “Quite what led you two women of good character and, I am satisfied, some intelligence, to engage in such a forum is beyond comprehension by any right-thinking member of society.
“Why there even exists such a forum is beyond comprehension and a sad indictment to humanity. You promoted the physical torture of monkeys by others and you disseminated videos of such torture and abuse.”
Speaking outside the court after sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Ben Arrowsmith said this was “without doubt one of the most disturbing cases” he and his team had worked on.
“I’m pleased that LeGresley and Orme will now face justice for their part in this abhorrent and vile cruelty,” he added.
‘Landmark Case’
The detective chief inspector also said that this represented a “landmark case,” being the first time in British legal history that charges relating to animal cruelty have been brought under the Serious Crime Act 2007 for cruelty that took place overseas, but where the offenders are in the UK.
Sarah Kite, co-founder of Action for Primates, thanked West Mercia Police, the National Crime Agency, and the National Wildlife Crime Unit for taking action against the two women.
Kite said: “The complete lack of empathy both women showed for the terror and suffering of the monkeys, some just a few days old, is so disturbing, and to pay for someone to inflict such violence is beyond comprehension. The depravity displayed by members of these online monkey torture groups is utterly horrifying.”
Tougher Action on Animal Torture Videos
The previous government sought to toughen sanctions related to animal cruelty.This brought it into the same category as other times of online content like threats to kill, revenge pornography, and child sexual abuse imagery, meaning that social media companies will be required to remove them, or face large fines.
The then-Conservative administration said that the amendment means that The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 now “provides one of the toughest sanctions in Europe” for that kind of offence.
The government had cited recent examples of online animal cruelty, including the Monkey Haters case.
