A New Jersey man was sentenced for his role as the middleman in a monkey torture ring where people paid for repulsive “monkey crushing” videos depicting the young chimps being physically and sexually abused by a child.
Giancarlo Morelli was sentenced to four years in prison for conspiring to create and distribute the horrific fetish films to would-be buyers, according to the US Department of Justice.
Morelli and co-conspirator Nicholas T. Dryden of Cincinnati were cuffed in June 2024. The duo was caught communicating in private online groups and chats dedicated to monkey torture and mutilation videos between March and April 2023, according to prosecutors.
Philip Colt Moss, an attorney from Iowa, was arrested in August and slapped with related charges.
The videos would stretch anywhere from mere seconds to 42 minutes. A 2024 indictment for the trio specified that Morelli funneled 28 payments of $40 to $379 to Dryden. From there, Dryden would send the money to a child in Indonesia who would perform the requested acts.
They reportedly arranged for the distribution of various forms of monkey torture, including “animal crushing” — but Dryden was the only one charged with creating the vile content.
The torture would range from “depictions of monkeys having their genitals burned, having their genitals cut with scissors, being sodomized with a wooden skewer, and being sodomized with a spoon,” federal prosecutors said after Moss’ arrest.
The term “animal crushing” itself originates from a kink where women in stilettos stomp on animals, but it can take many different forms.
The creation and distribution of material featuring “animal crushing” and other forms of cruelty was banned under the Animal Crush Prohibition Act of 2010. The Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act of 2019 later boosted the violation to a federal crime.
For his part, Morelli paid someone for explicit videos depicting the torture and abuse of monkeys at least 20 times, according to the DOJ. He was in consistent contact with this person and would even offer feedback and suggestions.
Dryden allegedly provided his input as well and would send messages like: “So, this is the best video that you have ever made. I don’t care. Go ahead and kill it. I’ll buy another one tomorrow,” according to the indictment.
“If you pay others to torture animals or to share images of that horrific abuse, you can expect to be held accountable as if you committed the torture firsthand,” Dominick Gerace II, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, said.
Morelli originally pleaded guilty in January, and 11 others involved were indicted on federal charges shortly after in relation to the case.
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