A Greeneville woman has pleaded guilty in a federal case accusing her of taking part in online groups that created and distributed graphic torture videos of monkeys. Prosecutors say the videos were produced overseas and shared among members of encrypted chat groups that focused on extreme animal abuse.
Katrina Favret of Greeneville pleaded guilty last week in the Southern District of Ohio to conspiring to create and distribute animal “crush videos.” She also pleaded guilty to a second count involving a specific video she solicited. The case is being handled in Ohio because one of Favret’s co-conspirators lived in that district and used communication and payment systems there during the conspiracy, according to the indictment.
Favret was first charged earlier this year when a federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment detailing her role in online groups “dedicated to monkey torture videos.”
The indictment states that, beginning as early as July 2021, Favret and others used encrypted messaging platforms such as Telegram and Signal to “view, discuss, promote, advertise, exchange, market, purchase, sell, distribute, solicit, and fund animal crush videos” depicting the torture and sexual abuse of both baby and adult monkeys.
According to prosecutors, Favret played an active role in arranging the videos. The indictment says she sought out individuals overseas who were willing to carry out the abuse on camera. In October 2021, she told a co-conspirator that she “had established contact with a new videographer in Indonesia who was willing to create monkey torture videos in exchange for payment.”
The indictment also describes other acts of mutilation shared within the group, including a video showing “a monkey having its genitals partially removed,” which another co-conspirator posted to a chat that included Favret.
In a statement of facts filed with her guilty plea, Favret admitted she solicited videos showing monkeys having their digits and limbs severed and monkeys being forcibly sodomized with a heated screwdriver.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the FBI investigated the case. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
Indictment– a word of caution. This document contains graphic descriptions of the crimes to which the defendant pleaded guilty.
Press Release from the Office of Public Affairs of the Department of Justice
A Tennessee woman pleaded guilty last week to crimes based on her involvement with online groups dedicated to creating and distributing videos depicting acts of extreme violence and sexual abuse against monkeys.
Katrina Favret, of Greenville, Tennessee, pleaded guilty to conspiring to create and distribute so-called “animal crush videos,” and to a second count addressing a specific video she solicited.
According to court documents, Favret conspired with others to create and distribute videos depicting acts of sadistic violence against baby and adult monkeys. The conspirators used encrypted chat applications to direct money to individuals in Indonesia willing to commit the requested acts of torture on camera.
According to a statement of facts signed by Favret, the videos included depictions of monkeys having their digits and limbs severed and monkeys being forcibly sodomized with a heated screwdriver.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) and U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II for the Southern District of Ohio made the announcement.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and FBI investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Mark Romley and Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Pakiz for the Southern District of Ohio are prosecuting the case.
