Warning: This article contains information that some may find disturbing.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A man and woman have been charged for their alleged involvement with online groups dedicated to monkey torture and mutilation, according to the United States Department of Justice.
According to the DOJ, a grand jury indictment was unsealed Wednesday, June 11, charging Katrina Favret, of Tennessee, and Robert Craig, of North Carolina, with creating and disturbing so-called “animal crush videos.”
The indictment alleges that the duo conspired with Ronald Bedra, of Ohio, who has since been sentenced to 54 months in prison and three years of supervised release in connection with the online groups.
Court documents state Favret and Craig conspired with others to create and distribute videos that showed acts of “sadistic violence against juvenile and adult monkeys.” They reportedly used encrypted chat apps to direct money to people in Indonesia who were willing to commit the requested acts of torture on camera.
“The videos alleged to have been created as part of the conspiracy included depictions of monkeys being sodomized with a heated screwdriver and a monkey having its genitals cut with scissors,” wrote the DOJ in a release about the indictment.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement Office reportedly investigated the case.
No additional details were released.