A South Florida man pleaded guilty Monday to distributing videos that depicted the sexual torture and mutilation of baby monkeys, prosecutors said.
Francisco Javier Ravelo, 36, of Coral Gables, was charged back in October, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida.
Ravelo had created online group chats to distribute more than 40 violent and sexual videos that depicted baby and adult monkeys getting mutilated and burned, prosecutors said.
“This case is deeply disturbing,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “As a former state court trial judge who presided over domestic violence cases, I was trained to recognize lethality factors, warning signs that violence is escalating. Deliberate cruelty to animals is one of the clearest red flags. It reflects a willingness to dominate, torture, and inflict suffering without remorse.”
President Donald Trump, during his first term, signed the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act into law to end animal crushing, which is conduct in which animals are subjected to extreme acts of cruelty and injury. These acts are usually filmed to create “animal crush videos,” which are produced for sexual gratification and shock value.
“If you are involved in this sadistic activity, we will prosecute you,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD).