MAN JAILED OVER ONLINE NETWORK TORTURING MONKEYS ON CAMERA

Bartosz Poklek has been jailed for three years and three months after being identified as a leading figure in an online network that produced and sold videos of monkeys being tortured and killed. Woolwich Crown Court heard that Poklek, from Bexley in south-east London, wrote scripts detailing how the animals should be mutilated and dismembered, and directed how they were killed, including being clubbed to death with a hammer. The court heard he ran chat groups linked to the network and distributed thousands of videos and images described as "abuse on demand", with some clips sold for up to 500 dollars. Judge Christopher Grout, sentencing Poklek on Friday, said some of the monkeys were dressed as babies while being attacked, which he said had raised concerns the animals were being used as substitutes by people seeking to view the abuse of children.

The court was told the abuse itself took place in south-east Asia, with macaque monkeys subjected to prolonged torture on camera for an online audience. Judge Grout said people are recruited into the network, which he described as a "vile underground community", after showing interest in animal abuse material posted on platforms including YouTube, Facebook and TikTok. He told the court he had never encountered a case of animal abuse as severe in his career as a lawyer or judge, and said the facts of the offending were likely to cause distress to anyone who heard or read about them.

Judge Grout said Poklek would be released after serving around a third of his sentence under standard release rules. He used the sentencing to call on Parliament to consider raising the maximum penalty for animal cruelty offences, which currently stands at five years, saying the case demonstrated that the existing maximum was too low. No further legislative action has yet been confirmed in response to his remarks.