A 33-year-old woman from Catlin, Illinois, has admitted in federal court that she bankrolled and shared violent "animal crush" videos in which monkeys were burned and sexually mutilated. Prosecutors say Amanda Leigh Fourez paid thousands of dollars to commission the bespoke torture clips, kept a tight grip on the video files, and distributed them inside private messaging groups.
In a plea entered Wednesday, Fourez admitted to two federal counts, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania. She acknowledged sending at least 11 payments to have customized videos produced and sharing the videos at least 10 times. The office says she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to create and distribute animal crush videos and to the distribution of such videos. Judge Christy Criswell Wiegand set sentencing for August 27, and the charges carry maximum penalties of up to seven years in prison and fines that could reach $500,000.
How Investigators Say The Ring Operated
According to prosecutors, Fourez was part of a small but determined online market where participants pooled money in private chat groups, then paid others to film tailored torture scenes that were later passed around to those who chipped in. Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans and the FBI followed the money trail and encrypted messaging activity to untangle the network, an operation first spotlighted by MyTexasDaily and reflected in federal filings.
What The Law Covers
Federal law makes it a crime to create or distribute "animal crush" videos under 18 U.S.C. § 48. That statute targets obscene recordings that show animals being crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled, or otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury. Congress later strengthened the framework through measures such as the PACT Act, giving prosecutors more leverage to go after the people who order, film, sell, or trade this material across state lines.
Broader Enforcement Push
Fourez’s guilty plea lands amid a broader federal crackdown this year on online markets for monkey torture footage. Prosecutors have already secured guilty pleas in related cases in Pennsylvania and Florida. Reporting on a Miami man admitting to trading depraved monkey torture videos online and other recent cases shows investigators following clips across encrypted messaging platforms and targeting both the customers and the people who produce the videos.
When Fourez returns to court on August 27, 2026, the judge will weigh federal sentencing guidelines and any aggravating factors before deciding her punishment. The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly M. Locher and Trial Attorney Emily R. Stone of the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. Federal agents say the investigation is still active as they look for others tied to the network, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
