Amanda Leigh Fourez, of Catlin, Illinois, was sentenced Thursday, Oct. 8, to 31 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for distributing and conspiring to create so-called "animal crush" videos, according to federal prosecutors.
Fourez was a member of online groups that included Joseph Garrett Buckland, of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, who pleaded guilty in April to conspiring to create and distribute the videos.
Buckland is now scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 13, 2027, federal officials said.
According to court documents, Fourez paid thousands of dollars to commission custom videos depicting the sexual torture and mutilation of monkeys, including baby monkeys.
Investigators said she participated in private payment groups and online chats dedicated to creating, distributing, and discussing videos showing monkeys being burned, tortured, and having their genitals mutilated.
She later distributed the videos online, prosecutors said.
During Thursday's sentencing hearing, the judge described the videos as "shocking and violent" and documenting "agonizing torture" of animals.
The court denied Fourez's request for a reduced sentence, noting that the punishment should deter others from participating in similar crimes.
Monkey Torture Ring
Buckland, of Mount Pleasant, was charged on Feb. 26 and pleaded guilty on April 1 to conspiracy to create and distribute animal crush videos.
Federal investigators said Buckland belonged to several online chat groups and private payment groups dedicated to creating and distributing videos depicting extreme violence and sexual abuse against baby and adult monkeys.
The videos included monkeys having their limbs broken and genitals mutilated, according to court documents.
Buckland personally collected money to finance the creation and distribution of the videos, prosecutors said.
He faces a maximum of five years in federal prison when sentenced in January.
The federal investigation has also led to guilty pleas and prison sentences involving other Pennsylvania defendants.
Robert Berndt, of Philadelphia, previously of New Jersey, was sentenced on Dec. 16, 2025, to 38 months in prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiring to create and distribute animal crush videos.
Investigators said Berndt and his co-conspirators used encrypted messaging applications to send money to individuals in Indonesia willing to torture baby and adult monkeys on camera.
Another Pennsylvania man, Hugh T. Campbell, pleaded guilty in federal court in Cincinnati on June 4 to conspiring to create and distribute animal crush videos.
According to court documents, Campbell participated in online groups that used encrypted applications to commission videos depicting extreme violence and sexual abuse against monkeys.
Prosecutors said Campbell commented on the videos, writing, "That video was awesome. Nice and gruesome," and, "It's just so unsatisfying to see a live monkey at the end."
The Justice Department has not established in the cited releases that Campbell and Berndt were members of the same conspiracy prosecuted in Buckland's and Fourez's cases.
Federal Prosecutors Target Animal Torture Networks
“Amanda Fourez commissioned mutilation of helpless animals on video, and then disseminated those gruesome videos to an online community of people who were seeking content that portrayed the infliction of severe pain and suffering,” U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti for the Western District of Pennsylvania said.
“Today’s sentencing demonstrates the ongoing commitment of the Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners to investigating and prosecuting these serious federal crimes involving cruelty to animals,” Rivetti added.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson said federal authorities remain committed to prosecuting those involved in the videos.
“We stand ready to prosecute this depraved conduct,” Gustafson said.
Homeland Security Investigations New Orleans' Cyber and Human Exploitation Investigations investigated Fourez's case.
Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Pennsylvania and the Justice Department's Environmental Crimes Section handled the prosecution.
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