CHESAPEAKE, Va. — A Chesapeake man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to federal charges stemming from videos showing "sadistic" torture of animals, typically monkeys.
Warning: The contents of this article may be disturbing to readers.
In a release on Tuesday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Michael Macartney, 51, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to create and distribute animal-crushing videos. He is slated to be sentenced in September and could face a maximum of five years in prison.
Between November 2021 and August 2022, court documents claim Macartney was part of an international ring that would promote, create, obtain and distribute torture videos. Macartney allegedly facilitated payments from online group members for the videos, with officials claiming he was paid more than 300 times for videos.
The videos featured "among other things, the torture, murder, and sexually sadistic mutilation of animals, specifically, juvenile and adult monkeys," according to a release. One of the videos apparently shows a young monkey dying after being trapped in a jar of ants, being sodomized.
In March 2022, according to officials, Macartney told a co-conspirator he had nearly 2,300 torture videos. But by August of that same year, investigators say he possessed more than 500 videos showing animal crushing.
