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Chesapeake man charged for creating, selling 'sadistic' monkey torture videos
By Margaret Kavanagh,
2024-03-28
Warning: The information surrounding this story from federal prosecutors may be disturbing to some readers.
A Chesapeake man has been charged for participating in an online group that would sell and share videos of animals — particularly juvenile and adult monkeys — being crushed and abused for entertainment, according to a federal indictment.
Michael Macartney, 50, who called himself the "Torture King", according to CBS, has been charged with conspiracy to create and distribute animal crushing videos.
Federal prosecutors allege that Macartney was part of an online group that would sell and share violent videos of animals, working with people in Indonesia to create and distribute them.
At least 20 people in the United States and two in Indonesia are under investigation related to this ring.
The purpose of the group, prosecutors say, was to fund, create, view, distribute, and promote videos that depicted the torture, murder, and sexual mutilation of animals — specifically, juvenile and adult monkeys.
Charging documents state Macartney and his coconspirators would collectively fund the creation of these videos using online payment.
Between Nov. 4, 2021 and Aug. 5, 2022, Macartney received over 300 electronic payments from coconspirators for the disturbing videos, documents allege.
Some unidentified members of the group would allegedly direct the videographers how to torture the animals in the videos.
Macartney allegedly agreed to sell some of the videos for $100 and sent a link where the videos were stored, apparently stating there were just under 2,300 videos.
One video depicted the torture of a juvenile monkey using a jar of ants and sodomy with an object, causing the juvenile monkey’s death, according to the court records.
The BBC investigated this ring and found that its reach spanned the globe.
After his involvement in the ring, CBS reported McCartney told the BBC he decided he wanted to help take them down, and accepted that he could face prosecution because he profited from the videos.
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