A British woman this morning admitted her involvement in an international monkey torture ring that saw animals sadistically beaten, burned and even doused with acid.
Holly LeGresley, 37, admitted to uploading 22 images and 132 videos to online chat forums between March and May 2022, depicting the torture of monkeys.
Also admitted paying £17.24 via PayPal to a contact to encourage or assist acts causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.
LeGresley, from Kidderminister, Worcestershire, was charged along with Adriana Orme, 55, from nearby Upton-upon-Severn, in March following a BBC investigation into the network.
The year-long investigation revealed a global network of monsters who ‘commissioned’ people living in Thailand or Indonesia to film monkeys being tortured and then share them online.
LeGresley was called ‘The Immolator’ online and was said to be a moderator of one of the most prolific groups that saw monkeys sadistically beaten, burned and even doused with acid.
The blood-obsessed woman, who lives with her parents in the Midlands, previously described Hannibal Lecter, a serial killer who eats his victims, and Pennywise, the IT clown who preys on children, as her “icons of the terror”, as MailOnline can reveal.
Holly LeGresley, 37, (pictured) admitted uploading 22 images and 132 videos to online chat forums between March and May 2022, depicting monkey torture.
LeGresley was charged along with Adriana Orme, 55, (pictured) from nearby Upton-upon-Severn, in March following a BBC investigation into the network.
In another post, LeGresley claims she is “completely obsessed” with horror writer Clive Barker and the main character of his Hellraiser: Pinhead, a demonic creature who rips apart his victims with hooks.
However, alongside her excellent horror movie reviews are dozens of conflicting images of her cradling and cuddling two cockatoos, Chancey and Princess Pea. In other images on social media she appears to have a tarantula in her hands.
In another post, LeGresley continues to present herself as an animal lover and even an activist against animal abuse.
Prosecutor Angla Hallan argued before Worcester magistrates that her sentencing powers were insufficient to deal with LeGresley due to the “unusual factual and legal procedural complexity of this particular case”.
He said West Mercia Police was informed about the defendants’ alleged role in the torture ring by the National Wildlife Crime Unit and said LeGresley and Orme were identified as being part of online chat groups.
Hallan said the case fell into the category of “sadism and great harm.”
The number of monkeys involved in the abuse was not stated in court, but it is believed that the torture focused on long-tailed macaque monkeys.
Orme gave no indication of pleading guilty. She is also accused of publishing an obscene article and causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
The number of monkeys involved in the abuse was not stated in court, but it is believed that the torture focused on long-tailed macaque monkeys.
LeGresley was called ‘The Immolator’ online and was said to be a moderator of one of the most prolific groups that saw monkeys sadistically beaten, burned and even doused with acid.
The court heard that the details of his charges were that he had uploaded one image and 26 videos between April and June 2022, and had made a payment of £10 via PayPal.
Orme was released on bail to appear at Worcester Crown Court on June 5, while LeGresley was released on bail until sentencing at the same court on June 7.
Their bail conditions stipulated that neither woman should have unsupervised contact with animals or children.
The court heard that while none of the women were said to have carried out acts of torture, “communications suggest a desire to do so and have expressed hatred towards pregnant women and babies”.
Mrs Hallan added: “In this case the monkeys look very childlike.”
LeGresley previously criticized an action movie for portraying the “gratuitous animal cruelty” of birds, attacking the “sick” scene for going “too far.”
In October 2021, after watching the Suicide Squad spin-off Birds of Prey, he wrote: “Just watched The Suicide Squad. They burn an aviary full of parrots alive with gasoline and they call that entertainment.’
‘That is incredible. You don’t do that shit, not even [with] computer graphics because it’s too far away.
‘Such gratuitous animal cruelty shouldn’t be allowed to be put into a movie when it doesn’t even serve the story. Sick, twisted people who made this movie. I won’t spend any more of my money on the franchise. What a disappointment.’
LeGresley and Orme are among a group of about 20 people believed to have been investigated for links to the monkey torture ring that had members from around the world, including the United States and Australia.
Michael McCartney, 50, was charged in Virginia with conspiracy to create and distribute images of animal crushing.
McCartney, nicknamed the ‘King of Torture’, was one of three key dealers identified in the investigation into cruel monkey torture gangs.
He had managed multiple group chats for monkey torture enthusiasts around the world using the encrypted messaging app Telegram.
Monkey haters sent him requests, asking for videos of monkeys being tortured and even set on fire.
The video tips were then sent along with payments to people in Indonesia who would carry out the abuse.
McCartney would later distribute the horrendous images on his social network.
The ringleader resides nearly 10,000 miles from the site of the monkey’s torture and lives in his home allegedly decorated with Nazi symbols and Confederate flags.
Toothless after years of heroin addiction, McCartney, who calls himself Mike, spent two decades with one of the most dangerous motorcycle gangs in the United States before going to prison.
It was during the pandemic that he first came across a monkey torture video and was soon invited to the Telegram group called Ape’s Cage, created by its ringleader ‘Mr Ape’.
When approached by the BBC, Ape, whose identity has not been revealed, spoke of his own loneliness that led him to create the forum.
He said it was “attractive” 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 it was a hammer or a screwdriver used to beat monkeys.
The ex-con, however, saw it as an opportunity to make monkeys. After gaining the trust of the shady community, he was trusted to trade and sell the sick images to other members. He once boasted: “I’m building an empire.”
Possessing animal torture videos in the US is not illegal, but distributing them is and can mean someone being sent to prison for up to seven years.
Following the station’s investigation, Homeland Security agents arrived at McCartney’s home. They confiscated his devices and questioned him, but then released him.
Last year he told BBC Eye’s investigations team: “I was the man. Do you want to see monkeys in bad condition?” I could take it to you.
Trying to gain sympathy, McCartney said he had invited animal rights activists to the group to expose him.
‘I tried to do the right thing, but I made a profit. It was my mistake,’ he stated.
McCartney has since been accused by prosecutors of raising funds from his chat groups and distributing videos depicting the “sadistic torture, murder and sexually mutilation of animals,” specifically young and adult monkeys.
He has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges and faces up to five years in prison.
While McCartney was undoubtedly a key figure in the underground network, he had a wide reach, and people from all over the world were said to be viewing the videos.
For years, the group’s vile habits had gone unpunished, but now those caught up in the disturbing underground network could face criminal charges and even jail terms.
Some have warned their accomplices to be careful because the authorities are after them.
In a forum where one user asks, “Can anyone send me gory or monkey torture videos?”, another advises, “I just want to warn you about this.” If they offer you videos and ask you to pay money, DON’T DO IT.
“It’s not illegal to see them but paying money for them can get you in serious trouble,” the user added in a post published days ago.
LeGresley was part of a group on the messaging app Telegram that brainstormed, crowdfunded and then commissioned videos of monkeys being tortured by people in Indonesia.
The BBC Eye team infiltrated chat groups to expose the existence of the sadistic global network.
The group was used to share ideas for custom torture videos, such as setting live monkeys on fire, injuring them with tools, and even putting one in a blender.
Kevin Lacks-Kelly, head of the UK’s National Wildlife Crime Unit, said LeGresley played a key and active role in the global torture network.
She said she was much more than a spectator, raising funds, archiving videos to share between groups and acting as an administrator in groups that welcomed new members.
“I have been investigating savage crimes for 22 years and it sickens me to say that this is without a doubt the worst case I have ever investigated or supervised,” he said.
