US ringleader in global monkey torture network sent to jail

Mike Macartnay in his garage in Virginia, which was decorated with the Confederate flag

One of the ringleaders of a global monkey torture network exposed by the BBC has been sentenced to three years and four months in prison.

Mike Macartney, 50, who used the alias ‘The Torture King’, pleaded guilty in the US state of Virginia to conspiracy to create and distribute animal crushing videos.

Macartney was one of three key distributors identified by the BBC Eye team in a year-long investigation into sadistic monkey torture groups.

The BBC’s reporting led to a nationwide criminal investigation in the US by the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

A former motorcycle gang member who previously spent time in prison, Macartney ran several of the most high-profile torture groups, based on the encrypted message app Telegram.

Sadists around the world used Telegram groups to share ideas for specific methods of torture. Those requests were then sent, along with payments, to video makers in Indonesia, who carried them out on baby long-tailed macaques.

Though Macartney collected funds and distributed videos, he was able to show that he had never sent money directly to an Indonesian video maker.

By choosing to plead guilty to conspiracy and co-operate fully with the Department of Homeland Security, which took charge of the unusual investigation, Macartney was able to avoid a possible maximum seven-year sentence.

At the sentencing hearing on Tuesday, the judge told the court it had been difficult to come up with an appropriate sentence because the justice system had never seen a similar case before, but that he merited a reduction from the guidelines because of his cooperation.

Special agent Paul Wolpert, who led the case and testified at Macartney’s hearing, told the BBC that despite the sentence reduction the underlying crimes were nonetheless serious.

“From my perspective, this is just below child exploitation in the depravity that we’ve seen, " Agent Wolpert said. "These are living beings, they have human qualities, and during this torture you could see them reaching out to try and find some comfort and not getting any.”

Authorities are also pursuing similar plea agreements with two other ringleaders identified by the BBC, including Stacey Storey from Alabama, who went by the alias 'Sadistic'.

Storey was among the most brutal figures in the monkey torture network. Along with another ringleader known by the alias 'Mr Ape', she was responsible for directing some of the most disturbing videos, including one of a live baby monkey being lowered into a blender.

Stacey Storey, aka 'Sadistic', was among the most brutal figures in the monkey torture ring

A total of nine key players in the monkey torture ring have now pleaded guilty or been sentenced in the US, following a wide-ranging and unprecedented investigation by the Department of Homeland Security.

In Oregon in April, 48-year-old David Noble, a disgraced former US Air Force officer who used the alias ‘Bones’, was sentenced to four years for his role in the groups.

Special Agent Robert Hammer, from DHS’s Pacific Northwest office, said the videos directed by Noble “represented a dark descent into the abyss of cruelty and exploitation".

In Florida, Nicole Devilbiss, 35, was sentenced to four years and three months for her role in the conspiracy.

According to an affidavit, Devilbiss told investigators she wanted to help stop the monkey torture, but later “transitioned to a dark place where she found relief” from the videos.

In the UK last month, 42-year-old Peter Stanley from Liverpool was sentenced to 20 months in prison for distributing what the judge here described as “horrific” videos.

Sergeant Dan Goss of Merseyside Police credited the BBC investigation with bringing the monkey torture network to the force’s attention. “The original investigation uncovered the widespread sharing of content which showed the deliberate and gratuitous suffering of baby monkeys,” he said.

Two other UK-based ringleaders, 37-year-old Holly LeGresley from Kidderminster and 55-year-old Ariana Orme from Upton-upon-Severn, are due to be sentenced later this month.

LeGresley, who went by ‘The Immolater’, admitted uploading 22 images and 132 videos of monkeys being tortured.

The prosecution said LeGresley had showed a desire to harm vulnerable creatures as well as a hatred towards pregnant women and children.

Kevin Lacks-Kelly, the head of the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit, told the BBC that the force was preparing to arrest several more suspects in the UK in the coming weeks.

"I've been investigating wild crime for 22 years and it sickens me to say that this is unequivocally the worst case I have ever investigated or overseen," he said.