A Philippines court hands down a landmark sentence to a couple for making fetish videos involving underage girls killing rabbits and dogs.
PHILIPPINES -- A court in the Philippines has imposed life imprisonment sentences on two citizens who made fetish videos showing young girls forced to torture and kill live animals.
Called “crush” videos, the tapes depict heinous acts committed against animals—sometimes by underage girls—leaving them mutilated, maimed, or dead.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Asia received a tip about the videos in 2011 and contacted the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation. Jason Baker, PETA Asia vice president, wrote in a blog post on Monday that Dorma and Vicente Ridon, the couple who produced the videos, also received fines of more than $198,000 each.
The court, based in La Union, Philippines, convicted the couple on charges of cruelty to animals, child abuse, human trafficking, and wildlife-protection crimes, according to The Philippine Star.
“The Ridons’ sentence is a warning to anyone involved in the vile crush video industry,” Baker said in a statement. “PETA was made aware of these horrible videos by a compassionate person who stumbled upon them and took the time to report it. It’s people like you who helped make this conviction possible.”
Buyers in Australia, France, Korea, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, and the United States purchased the videos, according to PETA, and all face the possibility of prosecution.
The news follows the recent announcement from the FBI, which has moved to reclassify animal abuse as a “crime against society,” the same level of offense as murder, drug trafficking, arson, and assault.
Animal crush videos were banned in the U.S. following the passing of the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010 by Congress and signed by President Obama.
In 2012, two Houston residents—Brent Wayne Justice, 53, and Ashley Nicole Richards, 23—were arrested for making animal crush videos and selling them internationally.
In May, Justice was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of animal cruelty, and Richards remains in the Harris County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.
(TakePart.com - Sept 29, 2014)
Life in prison is fabulous for these scum. It's more than I'd have believed. I wish we could do the same in this country.
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