An online chat forum where depraved sadists would pay to watch videos of monkeys being put in blenders, burned, beaten and doused in acid was masterminded in part by an unassuming British woman from her parents spare room.
Troubled Holly LeGresley, 37, today admitted that she had uploaded 22 images and 132 videos to the site between March and May 2022 and paid a contact £17.24 via PayPal to encourage unnecessary suffering to an animal.
Last year, the sordid global network of animal abusers was exposed after a year long investigation by the BBC found individuals online were commissioning the depraved videos.
‘The monkey hating community’, as it’s known to its members, works by users ‘commissioning’ videos to be created by people living in countries like Thailand or Indonesia, who film the depraved acts.
LeGresley, from Kidderminister, Worcestershire, who used the name of ‘The Immolator’ online, was charged following a BBC investigation into the network.
Holly LeGresley, 37, (pictured) admitted uploading 22 images and 132 videos between March and May 2022, depicting the torture of monkeys to online chat forums
Bird-enthusiast LeGresley had gone by the name of ‘The Immolator’ online and was said to be a moderator in one of the most prolific groups
LeGresley committed her sick acts from her parent’s spare room in Kidderminster
She was said to be a moderator in one of the most prolific groups and previously described Hannibal Lecter, a serial killer who eats his victims, and Pennywise, the clown from IT who preys on children, as her ‘horror icons’.
The gore obsessed woman – who lives with her parents in the Midlands – was discovered as part of a year-long probe into the global network of monsters.
For years their vile habits have gone unpunished but now those caught indulging in the disturbing underground network could face criminal charges – and even jail time.
In a sick social media post, LeGresley claimed she is ‘utterly obsessed’ with horror writer Clive Barker and the main character in his Hellraiser: Pinhead – a demonic creature that tears its victims apart with hooks.
Yet sat alongside her rave reviews of scary films are dozens of contradictory images of her cradling and cuddling up to two cockatiels, Chancey and Princess Pea. In other pictures on social media she appears to be holding a tarantula in her hands.
In another post, LeGresley continues to portray herself as an animal-lover and even a campaigner against animal abuse.
Prosecutor Angla Hallan submitted to magistrates sitting in Worcester that their sentencing powers were insufficient to deal with LeGresley due to the ‘unusual legal procedural and factual complexity of this particular case’.
A year-long investigation by the BBC found that hundreds had been paying Indonesians to torture and kill infant long-tailed macaques on video
She said West Mercia Police were informed about the defendants’ alleged role in the torture network by the National Wildlife Crime Unit and said LeGresley was identified as having been part of online chat groups.
Ms Hallan said the case fell into a category of ‘sadism and high harm’.
The variety of monkeys involved in the abuse was not stated in court, but the torture is believed to concentrate on long-tailed macaque monkeys.
LeGresley has previously slammed an action film for portraying ‘gratuitously animal cruelty’ of birds – hitting out at the ‘sick’ scene for going ‘too far’.
Writing in October 2021, after watching the Suicide Squad spin-off Birds of Prey she wrote: ‘I just watched The Suicide Squad. They burn an aviary full of parrots alive using gasoline and call that entertainment.’
‘That’s sick. You don’t do that s***, even [with] computer graphics because it’s too far.
‘Shouldn’t be allowed to put such gratuitous animal cruelty in a movie when it doesn’t even really serve the story. Sick twisted people who made this film. Won’t be spending any more of my money on the franchise. What a disappointment.’
The prosecution has led the group to splinter, with some members warning their co-conspirators to watch out that the authorities are after them.
On one forum where a user asks ‘is anyone able to send me monkey torture or gore videos’, another advises: ‘I just want to warn you about this. If you are offered videos and are asked to pay money, DON’T.’
‘It’s not illegal to watch them but paying money for them can you get you in serious trouble’, the user added in a post published days ago.
Michael McCartney, 50, was charged in Virginia with conspiracy to create and distribute animal-crushing footage
A horrific video shows baby monkeys dressed up in human clothing while trapped in cages
Sadist Michael McCartney, 50, was also charged in Virginia with conspiracy to create and distribute animal-crushing footage.
McCartney – dubbed the ‘Torture King’ – was one of three key distributors who was identified in the probe into the cruel monkey torture gangs.
He had managed multiple group chats for monkey torture enthusiasts all over the world by using the coded messaging app Telegram.
Monkey haters would send him commissions, asking for videos of monkey’s being tortured and even set on fire.
The video suggestions were then sent alongside payments to people in Indonesia who would conduct the abuse which sometimes ended with the killing of the baby long-tailed monkeys.
M Ajis Rasjana (pictured) was sentenced to eight months in prison in Indonesia – the maximum available for animal torture
The year-long probe found videos were being commissioned of the baby monkeys getting sadistically beaten, attacked with drills and even doused in acid.
The recent charges have left the abusers warning their co-conspirators to watch out that the authorities are after them
McCartney would then distribute the horrendous footage on his social media network.
The ringleader is based almost 10,000 miles away from the site of the monkey’s torture, living in his home allegedly decorated with Nazi symbols and Confederate flags.
Toothless from years of heroin addiction, McCartney – who goes by Mike – previously spent two decades with one of America’s most dangerous motorcycle gangs, before going to prison.
It was during the pandemic that he first stumbled upon a monkey torture video and soon enough he was invited onto the Telegram group dubbed Ape’s Cage, set up by its ringleader ‘Mr Ape’.
When approached by the BBC, Mr Ape – whose identity has not been revealed – spoke of his own loneliness leading him to create the forum.
He said it was ‘appealing’ to see ‘something else suffer’ and a way to forget his own pain.
The lurid forum was filled with polls asking members what form of torture they wanted to see next, whether was it a hammer or a screwdriver being used to beat the monkeys.
The ex-con, however, saw it as a monkey making opportunity. After becoming trusted within the grim community he was trusted to trade and sell the sick footage to other members. He once bragged: ‘I’m building an empire.’
A tortured monkey lies in a dirty cage while dressed in human clothing for online content (taken from YouTube)
Following the investigation into the monkey torture ring around 20 people were investigated across the world
Possession of animal torture videos in the US is not illegal but distributing them is and can see someone sent to prison for up to seven years.
Following the broadcaster’s probe, Homeland Security agents descended on McCartney’s home. His devices were seized and he was questioned but later let go.
He told the BBC Eye investigations team last year: ‘I was the man You want to see monkeys get messed up? I could bring it to you.’
Trying to gain sympathy, McCartney said he had invited animal rights campaigners into the group to expose it.
‘I tried to do the right thing but I profited. It was my mistake,’ he said.
Since then, McCartney has been accused by prosecutors of gathering funds from his chat groups and distributing videos showing the ‘torture, murder and sexually sadistic mutilation of animals’ specifically of juvenile and adult monkeys.
He has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges and is facing up to five years in prison.
While McCartney was undoubtedly a key figure in the underground network, it had a far reach.
Horrific videos shared to the network saw monkeys being set on fire, put in a blender and even killed
Amongst them was Stacey Storey, a 46-year-old grandmother who worked at a petrol station and lived with son in a trailer in rural Alabama. But her screen name was ‘Sadistic’.
According to the BBC’s probe, she was one of the most prolific users on Ape’s Cage, charging $200 (£150) for torture videos which included everything from force feeding and putting monkey’s in jars of acid.
Her money shot came after she conceived the idea, alongside Mr Ape, of commissioning a video showing a monkey in a blender.
Eventually, other innocent people had started to stumble on the questionable videos before being invited to join the group.
It was infiltrated by innocent bystanders and a few animal rights campaigners who raised the alarm on the senseless animal cruelty taking place. These included activist Nina Jackel and Dave Gooptar in Trinidad.
Mr Ape, who ran the empire he created from his mother’s home in Florida, had reached out to both asking them to stop the monkey haters from around the world and called for them to help ‘stop the monkey torture’.
It later published in April 2022 becoming extremely popular with those in the community with hundreds flocking to the Telegram group.
Alongside McCartney two others were also charged in the US. This includes former US Air Force officer David Christopher Noble, 48, and Nicole Devilbliss, 35. Both face up to five years in prison.
According to the BBC, more charges are expected to follow soon for others who were key in the torture ring. Following its probe 20 people were investigated across the world.
One man in Indonesia called M Ajis Rasjana who filmed some of the monkey torture videos was sentenced to eight months in prison after the investigation.