Prineville man charged with creating animal crushing videos of torturing, killing monkeys
EUGENE, OREGON — A 48-year-old former Prineville resident has been indicted on charges of conspiring to engage in animal crushing and creating and distributing animal crush videos of the torture, mutilation and killing of adult and juvenile monkeys, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon said Thursday.
David Christopher Noble, a former Air Force officer, also was charged with possessing a firearm as a dishonorably discharged person.
According to court documents, Noble allegedly conspired with others to view, encourage and fund animal crush videos in an online group using an encrypted chat application. Noble, as a group administrator, allegedly paid for creation of and celebrated videos of the torture, sexually-sadistic mutilation and murder of monkeys, and frequently changed its name to evade law enforcement.
Federal prosecutors said Noble moved from Prineville to Nevada in January following a search warrant at his Oregon home. He was arrested in Henderson, Nevada, this week, made his first federal court appearance Wednesday in Las Vegas and was ordered detained as he awaits transfer to Oregon for prosecution.
Creating animal crush videos is punishable by up to seven years in federal prison with three years supervised release. Illegally possessing a firearm as a dishonorably discharged person carries a sentence of up to 15 years in federal prison.
In 2006, Noble was dishonorably discharged from the Air Force and served six months in military custody after being court-martialed on allegations of an unprofessional relationship and fraud, prosecutors said.
The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security.
Charles Gearing can be reached at cgearing@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon man charged creating, animal crushing videos of monkeys
