Michael Macartney, 50, confessed to the BBC his role in an extreme monkey torture network.

A ringleader in a global monkey torture network exposed by the BBC has been charged by US federal prosecutors.

Michael Macartney, 50, who went by the alias “Torture King”, was charged in Virginia with conspiracy to create and distribute animal-crushing videos.

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

Two women have also been charged in the UK following the investigation.

Warning: This article contains disturbing content

Mr Macartney, a former motorcycle gang member who previously spent time in prison, ran several chat groups for monkey torture enthusiasts from around the world on the encrypted messaging app Telegram.

    • @samus12345@lemmy.worldEnglish
      57•3 months ago

      Pretty sure anyone claiming to be that just likes torture, and monkeys are the closest they can get to humans without facing way more prison time.

      • @Mirshe@lemmy.world
        3•3 months ago

        Pretty much this. They’re about two steps removed from actual serial killer tendencies - I’m betting more than a few of these guys wound up needing a fresh pair of underwear after making a video, if you get me.

    • @Wogi@lemmy.world
      20•3 months ago

      If this was an onion headline I’d think it’s maybe a little too outlandish to be believable.

      Dude literally just crushed monkeys for… Profit? What in the nine hells would compel a person to do that. To pay to see it??

    • Fire Witch
      13•3 months ago

      …animal-crushing videos…

      Somehow it gets worse with every sentence