A female duo have been caged for their roles in a global monkey torture network described by a judge as “depraved, sickening and wicked” – after they shared horrific videos of the animals being killed in blenders.
The 37-year-old Holly Le Gresley, also known as “The Immolator,” was a member of a group on the Telegram messaging service that produced, commissioned, and crowdfunded recordings of the animals being tortured by Indonesians. Videos of the defenceless animals being pummelled, soaked with acid, and placed in blenders were captured, reports the Mirror.
Last year, at least 20 individuals were under investigation worldwide after a BBC-led probe revealed the torture network involving two British women. LeGresley was sentenced to two years in prison today at Worcester Crown Court for admitting she uploaded 22 images and 132 videos of monkeys being tortured to online chat groups, and making a payment to a PayPal account to encourage cruelty.
After pleading guilty to publishing an obscene article by posting one photograph and 26 videos of monkey torture and to encouraging or assisting the conduct of unnecessary suffering by sending £10 to a PayPal account, Adriana Orme, 56, was sentenced to 15 months in jail.
Judge James Burbidge KC said Dutch-born Orme and LeGresley, from Upton-upon-Severn and Kidderminster respectively, had joined online chat groups which encouraged torture of monkeys by offenders based in Indonesia.
The judge, who said he had been left “almost in disbelief” by the evidence in the case, told the defendants: “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.”
It was discovered that hundreds of internet customers, ranging from Indonesia to the US, paid the cruel torture ring to recommend methods for torturing and occasionally killing baby long-tailed macaques on video.
One of the monkeys, Mini, who appeared in several of the films, rose to fame inside the ring during the year-long investigation, which was revealed in June 2023. M Ajis Rasajana, her owner, would record the horrifying scenes in which he locked her in a room with him and laughed as he slammed her against the wall.
The torture ring is believed to have begun on YouTube, but it later shifted to secret groups on the messaging platform Telegram as the appetite for more severe abuse was recognised.
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