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Summary

  • Adriana Orme and Holly Le Gresley admitted earlier this year to being part of the network

  • The judge describes the women's behaviour as depraved, sickening, wicked

  • He added some of the videos depicted "extreme sadistic violence"

  • Members across the world paid for baby monkeys in Indonesia and other Asian countries to be tortured, and killed, for pleasure

  • The group began life on YouTube, before moving to messaging app Telegram

  • It was exposed after ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Eye journalists went undercover on Telegram

  • Prosecutors paid tribute to the work of charity Action for Primates

  1. Our coverage of the sentencingpublished at 18:18 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November

    That brings our coverage of this sentencing hearing to a close.

    It resulted in Adriana Orme, 56, from Upton upon Severn in Worcestershire being sentenced to 15 months in jail and 37-year-old Holly Le Gresley from Kidderminster being sentenced to two years.

    There will be more coverage of the case on the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ website.

  2. US animal charity says videos were sickeningpublished at 18:14 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November

    We've also had comment from USA animal rights charity Lady Freethinker, which was also involved in tracking the network after a tip off from an activist in the UK.

    Its founder, Nina Jackel, said: “The horrors being inflicted on innocent, baby monkeys for online videos are sickening, and strong actions must be taken to protect animals from such brutality at the hands of humans.

    "Those involved in the creation or distribution of animal torture content for ‘enjoyment’ pose a threat to both animals and humans, and they must be held accountable."

  3. 'More than mere participants'published at 18:04 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November

    Ch Insp Kevin Lacks-Kelly, Head of the National Wildlife Crime Unit, has said Le Gresley and Orme "acted as more than mere participants in this complex web of unjustifiable torture".

    He said they had attempted to hide "behind a veil of secrecy on the internet, assuming that their participation in crimes overseas would not bring the police to their doors in the UK".

    The chief inspector also said that while most investigations involving wild animals taken for human use revolved around money, in this case the group were "motivated by inflicting as much suffering as possible to these defenceless animals".

  4. Such hatred and deviant fascination incomprehensible - policepublished at 17:56 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November

    Det Ch Insp Ben Arrowsmith, who led the investigation for West Mercia Police, has said it was "without doubt one of the most disturbing cases that my team and I have ever worked on".

    He also said the "hatred and deviant fascination the defendants have shown in relation to the cruelty and abuse towards monkeys is incomprehensible". 

    He said the suffering endured by the monkeys involved had been "sickening and sadistic" and that it was "impossible to comprehend how anyone could find it enjoyable to watch and be part of".

    A man with a blue shirt and dark suit with a beard
  5. Case marks a first in British legal history - policepublished at 17:50 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November

    Det Ch Insp Ben Arrowsmith has been speaking on the steps of the court.

    He described it as a landmark case.

    He said: "It's the first time in British legal history that charges relating to animal cruelty have been brought for offences that took place abroad, where the offenders are in the UK."

  6. No tolerance for these crimes - Action for Primatespublished at 17:43 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November

    Tributes were paid in court to the charity Action for Primates for its work in bringing Orme and Le Gresley to justice.

    Speaking after the sentences, spokesperson Sarah Kite said: "Anyone involved in this type of behaviour must be held to account, and others need to know that such extreme cruelty and depravity will never be tolerated.

    "We hope these sentences will deter others from becoming involved in these perverted and sadistic activities.''

  7. Indonesian offenders jailedpublished at 17:38 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November

    Police in Indonesia also arrested two torture suspects.

    Asep Yadi Nurul Hikmah (pictured) was charged with animal torture and the sale of a protected species and sentenced to three years in prison.

    M Ajis Rasjana was sentenced to eight months - the maximum sentence available in the country for torturing an animal.

    Asep Yadi Nurul Hikmah being arrested, while smoking a cigarette
  8. US ringleader of network jailed in Octoberpublished at 17:33 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November

    This investigation went beyond the two women from Worcestershire.

    Last month one of the ringleaders was sentenced to three years and four months in prison.

    Mike Macartney, 50, who used the alias The Torture King, pleaded guilty in the US state of Virginia to conspiracy to create and distribute animal crushing videos.

    He was one of three key distributors identified by the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Eye team in their year-long investigation.

    The reporting led to a nationwide criminal investigation in the US by the Department of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖland Security, the FBI and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

    A man with a beard and a black top standing in front of a Confederate flag
  9. Le Gresley's messages showed awareness of crimespublished at 17:28 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November

    The judge mentioned Le Gresley's knowledge of the jail time she could face if she was caught.

    Following the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ investigation, West Mercia Police officers spent more than a year recovering thousands of files from 20 devices owned by the women.

    They were assisted by Action for Primates, a UK-based advocacy project.

    Below is just one of the conversations involving Le Gresley, who used the nickname The Immolator.

    A text conversation between two people in which the discuss the risks of prosecutionImage source, West Mercia Police
  10. 'The worst that humanity can bring'published at 17:22 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November

    Speaking in August, Ch Insp Kevin Lacks-Kelly, head of the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit, said the case had been the worst he had dealt with during his 22 years as an officer.

    "We’ve seen the worst that humanity can bring," he said.

    "I can't offer any rationale or reason as to why somebody would want to go to the levels that they went to, to persecute, kill, harm and maim these innocent animals."

  11. Comment from police expectedpublished at 17:16 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November

    Both women have now been led back to their cells.

    We're expecting a comment from West Mercia Police officer outside the courtroom now.

    We'll bring that to you when we get it.

  12. Sadistic behaviour 'against any sense of compassion'published at 17:11 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November

    The judge said he could not give suspended sentences after their "deplorable, abhorrent and sadistic behaviour".

    He said their offences went against any sense of compassion.

  13. Reductions due to guilty pleaspublished at 17:08 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November

    The judge said the maximum jail sentence was reduced because of the guilty pleas.

    He told both women: "In my judgement I'd be failing in my public duty by suspending the sentence.

    "Such behaviour should not be tolerated and must be marked with immediate imprisonment.

    "The gravity of your offending outweighs the other factors."

  14. Pair jailedpublished at 17:05 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November
    Breaking

    Le Gresley has been jailed for two years, while Orme is jailed for 15 months.

    In explaining his thinking, Judge Burbidge rejected suspended sentences.

  15. Judge turning to Ormepublished at 17:01 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November

    The judge has turned to Orme now - he noted the "moving tributes" paid to her and that she had cared for a rescue dog.

    He also noted her mental health conditions, but did not accept she was isolated from people as had been claimed.

  16. Prolonged cruelty and sadistic behaviour - judgepublished at 16:57 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November

    The judge said both defendants had high culpability factors from prolonged and serious cruelty, and sadistic behaviour.

    He said certainly Le Gresley had played a leading role.

  17. Maximum sentence of five yearspublished at 16:55 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November

    After listing some of the horrific torture inflicted on the monkeys, the judge told Le Gresley the crimes she had committed carried a maximum sentence of five years, as she herself had noted in her online conversations.

    He also told the court there must be "some level of deterrent".

  18. Le Gresley 'now believes she has PTSD from videos'published at 16:53 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November

    The court heard Le Gresley has described how she believes she now has post-traumatic stress disorder from watching the videos.

  19. Graphic detail of monkey torturepublished at 16:48 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November

    The judge has been recalling, in detail, some of the torture inflicted on monkeys in the videos.

    One monkey died after being tortured for around 10 minutes, he said.

    Because of the nature of the offences, we will not be repeating the detail on this live page.

  20. Le Gresley 'became an archivist for the group'published at 16:47 Greenwich Mean Time 13 November

    Le Gresley "in effect became an archivist for the group", the judge said.

    He told her: "You offered to help catalogue a user's collection.

    "You boasted about the amount of videos and images you possessed."