A Charlotte man was sentenced today to 28 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for his role in an international online network dedicated to the creation and distribution of horrific animal abuse videos.
Robert Craig pleaded guilty on June 25, 2025, to conspiring to create and distribute “animal crush videos”—a federal classification for media that depicts the explicit torture, mutilation, or killing of live animals.
According to federal court documents, Craig utilized encrypted chat applications to participate in private groups where members shared and discussed obscene videos of monkeys being subjected to extreme violence and sexual abuse.
A signed statement of facts reveals a deeper level of orchestration: Craig and his co-conspirators did not merely view the content, but actively commissioned it. The group specifically requested and financed specific acts of torture against the animals, which were then filmed and distributed within the encrypted network.
The sentencing was jointly announced by a coalition of federal law enforcement leadership, signaling a coordinated crackdown on digital animal cruelty rings.
The complex, cross-jurisdictional investigation was spearheaded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service alongside the FBI.
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