Jacksonville woman, an admin in online monkey 'crush video' group, pleads guilty to felony
A Jacksonville woman has pleaded guilty to conspiring to create and circulate “crush videos” showing monkeys being tortured and killed.
Nicole Danielle Devilbiss, 35, was part of an online group that swapped videos and hundreds of messages about abuse and torture of the animals, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a release about her plea deal.
Prosecutors said the group, which changed its name often, also raised money for videographers, some in Indonesia, to produce videos that were sent on to members in the United States.
Animal crushing is its own federal felony and the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Devilbiss could face a maximum punishment of five years in prison.
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The release said Devilbiss was the administrator for a group-chat app that “was dedicated to the abuse, torture and death of various-aged monkeys” and that videos the group shared included “sadistic mutilation” of the animals, some of them babies.
Devilbiss sent at least three payments that helped fund the videos, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
A sentencing date hasn’t been set.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville woman admits role in monkey 'crush video' online group
