A man shared “extremely perverse” videos of baby monkeys being horrifically tortured with comments such as “a fav of mine this one”.
Peter Stanley, 42, was part of a sickening private Facebook group called ‘Monkey Sauce’ where members were encouraged to view and post their own disturbing videos.
Stanley, who previously worked for a solicitors’ firm, shared three of his own videos in the group after other members encouraged him to do so he wouldn’t report what they were doing. But a volunteer for an animal rights organisation had gained access to the group and shared their findings with the police, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Christopher Taylor, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court that Stanley posted three videos of baby macaque monkeys being abused between April 3 and June 24 last year. The defendant told the moderators of the vile group, which has since been shut down by Facebook, that he wanted to engage in the material because he “hated monkeys”.
The videos, which varied between seven and 15 minutes in length, showed the baby monkeys being horrifically tortured by people believed to be in either Thailand or Indonesia. The extreme videos included monkeys being mutilated and tortured with instruments including pliers, a hatchet and a machete.
The court heard the defendant also commented on the videos he shared. On one he said “now do as you are told”, while on another he said “a fav of mine this one”. On his third video he commented “this rat has nailed it”.
However, the court heard that Sarah Kite – founder of group Action for Primates and a former mental health nurse – passed information to the police regarding Stanley’s behaviour after a volunteer inside the group saw what he was posting.
Stanley was arrested after a warrant was carried out at his home address on March 26.
His mobile phone, which was seized by police, showed online searches including “how to tell if a baby monkey is distressed” and beastiality pornography involving horses. During his police interview he told officers he had begun by watching videos of monkeys in the wild and questioned how bad they could be hurt.
He viewed about 70 videos in the private Facebook group between June 23 and October 23. He said he stopped after watching an extremely bad video. Mr Taylor told the court there are no formal guidelines when it comes to this case.
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Merseyside Police said it was the first of its kind in the north west. Mr Taylor said the custodial threshold had been passed because of the extreme pain and suffering depicted in the material. He added: “Without defendants like this the trade would not continue.”
The defendant, of Dovecot Avenue, Dovecot, appeared before Liverpool Magistrates’ Court last month where he was pleaded guilty to three counts of publishing an obscene article showing animal torture.
In mitigation, Charles Lander, defending, told the court today that two references had been provided which described the defendant as “caring and friendly”, who was “full of integrity” but now also full of remorse and regret. He said his client left school at 16 and has worked for 26 years, most recently at a well-established solicitors’ firm.
However, when he disclosed that he had been arrested, his employment was terminated and his partner of eight years ended their relationship. He has since been living with his parents who “couldn’t believe they are sitting in crown court,” Mr Lander said.
The defence barrister added: “I do not seek to minimise his behaviour. The descriptions speak for themselves. He told police he didn’t know why he got into this…This isn’t someone who carried on offending until his arrest, he stopped months before.”
Mr Lander added: “He did what he accepts is a stupid thing for a few weeks when he was part of the group. He stopped when he realised the error of his ways. He never thought he would get the fateful knock on the door.”
Mr Lander conceded that the custodial threshold had been met, but asked for any sentence to be suspended. He said his client had a realistic prospect of rehabilitation, strong personal mitigation and didn’t pose a risk or danger to the public. He said the defendant’s parents, who described their son as a gentle giant, “do not believe that he would be able to cope with a custodial sentence.”
Sentencing, His Honour Judge Ian Harris told the defendant: “These offences are utterly repellent and have no place in a civilised society. You were a volunteer, not a conscript.” The judge told the defendant that an immediate custodial sentence was “unavoidable” and sentenced him to 20 months’ imprisonment.