Woman jailed for sharing baby monkey torture videos

A Scottish mother-of-two involved in a global monkey torture network has been jailed for more than two years.

Natalie Herron, 39, from Airdrie in North Lanarkshire, joined online chat groups which encouraged torture of macaques by offenders based in Indonesia.

Airdrie Sheriff Court heard how she became a group administrator for the network, which was exposed by a BBC investigation, and shared hundreds of images and videos of the abuse.

The group paid for baby long-tailed macaques to be taken from their mothers in Indonesia before they were tortured and killed.

WARNING: This article contains distressing details of animal torture.

The acts of cruelty included crucifixion, machete attacks and one video that showed a baby monkey being dipped in boiling oil.

The court heard how Herron had made contact online with Michael Macartney, the US-based ringleader of the network who used the alias "The Torture King".

This is the first time someone has been sentenced in Scotland for cruelty that took place abroad.

Investigators from the National Crime Agency alerted Police Scotland and a raid on Herron's home in 2022 discovered an iPhone with 1,084 images and videos of monkey torture.

Investigators discovered 4,000 messages on a WhatsApp group which had been sent by Herron discussing torture and hatred of the animals.

Messages included one that said: "I am shocked how easily the drill went through the skull, it was like butter."

Another message read: "Trying to find a video where they will kill the mum and the babies watch."

Herron was sentenced to two years and three months in prison.

She had earlier admitted two charges of possessing and distributing obscene material, namely videos depicting animal torture, between October 2021 and September 2022 at her home address.

She admitted a further charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner likely to cause fear or alarm by sending messages to various online and social media groups which described and promoted animal torture.

The court was told she made payments to Macartney but she claimed it was not for the videos but to "help him".

Members of the online group, who claimed they were angered at the monkeys destroying land in Indonesia, voted on proposed methods of torture.

Nicky Matteo, defending, said: "In all the years I have been practising I have not seen a case like this. It has not been a pleasant experience.

"She [Herron] has had horrific problems in life and she built up a connection with other group members.

"She was trying to ingratiate herself with other members, it was a false sense of escapism.

"She is no longer the person that was responsible for sending those messages. She recognises the severity of it."

Sentencing Herron, Sheriff Derek Livingston said: "The fact you not only joined these groups but then helped to facilitate them only helped to increase the animals' suffering."

The BBC investigation uncovered the network that began life on YouTube before it moved to private groups on the messaging app Telegram.

Macartney, 51, was jailed last year after pleading guilty in the US state of Virginia to conspiracy to create and distribute animal cruelty videos.

He was sentenced to three years and four months in jail.

A month later, Adriana Orme, 56, from Upton-upon-Severn, and Holly Le Gresley, 37, from Kidderminster, were jailed after admitting being part of the global network.

Police Scotland officers said it was one of the most horrific cases they had dealt with and the material was like nothing they had seen before.

Det Sgt Karen Murray said: "This was a long and complex investigation which involved a number of organisations including the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) and was the first of its kind in the UK.

"Thanks to the work of these organisations, Herron will now face the consequences of her actions which contributed to the cruel torture and immense suffering of a number of innocent animals."

She added: "This was one of the most disturbing and graphic cases we have worked on and we hope this sentence shows that even though the cruelty took place abroad, that these types of crimes will not be tolerated and we will use all the tools at our disposal to hold people accountable."

Det Insp Mark Harrison, from the National Wildlife Crime Unit, said: "This investigation is truly shocking and unsettling.

"The people involved are not just motivated by money, this is also about getting some sort of gratification from watching animals being tortured and then sharing those images with others."

Procurator fiscal Faye Cook said: "The videos and images that Natalie Herron bought and shared online are horrendous.

"These animals were shown to be suffering extreme pain. This has been a distressing case for the prosecution team and police, but we have held Natalie Herron accountable.

"Individuals involved in the distribution of graphic and obscene online content depicting violent torture should be forewarned that this behaviour is not only repellent, but is against the law and will be prosecuted."

Anyone who has any concerns around such behaviour is asked to contact Police Scotland.