A ringleader in a global monkey torture network exposed by the BBC has been charged by US federal prosecutors.

Michael Macartney, 50, who went by the alias “Torture King”, was charged in Virginia with conspiracy to create and distribute animal-crushing videos.

Mr Macartney was one of three key distributors identified by the BBC Eye team during a year-long investigation into sadistic monkey torture groups.

Two women have also been charged in the UK following the investigation.

Warning: This article contains disturbing content

Mr Macartney, a former motorcycle gang member who previously spent time in prison, ran several chat groups for monkey torture enthusiasts from around the world on the encrypted messaging app Telegram.

36 points

Nuke us from orbit, it’s the only way to be sure

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10 points

I second that.

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5 points

Working on waking up the Old Ones over here, will speed up.

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161 points

I gotta admit, I was blissfully unaware that this was a thing. I really did not expect to read a headline like that this morning.

What in the fucking fuck is wrong with people? This motherfucker needs to spend the rest of his life behind bars. The biggest sign of a person becoming a serial killer is their treatment of animals. I mean, he’s already been to prison, so it’s not like he has any interest in being rehabilitated in prison.

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43 points

I agree with you but to be fair our prison system is terrible at rehabilitation. Sure it works sometimes but it’s not their main focus.

Did you read about the prison that is denying everyone in person visits so they can charge money for phone calls and video calls? They’re getting a kick back from the companies whk run those systems. Fucking gross.

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26 points

I am pretty sure that rehabilitation only happens in spite of our prison system.

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3 points

The US prison system is punitive not rehabilitative.

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6 points

The goal of the private prisons is to get the individual to commit more crimes so they get paid more. This means they are being paid to encourage and change people to break the law, as opposed to teach them to be better

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4 points

Prisons and jails are what we have instead of mental healthcare.

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2 points

I don’t think OP is looking to rehabilitate the torture king…

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23 points

The biggest sign of a person becoming a serial killer is their treatment of animals.

I’m going to guess this is the second biggest sign with the first biggest sign being specifically their treatment of the animals most closely related to humans.

Like torturing worms? Maybe 50% chance

Torturing dogs has got to be a good 80%

Torturing monkeys has got to be like a 99%+ chance of being a serial killer.

Jesus Christ.

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27 points

The second biggest sign is the huge ass Trump and confederate flag behind him.

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2 points
*

I kept reading “words” as “women”… felt real concerned for a minute there

E: “worms.” I kept reading “worms” as “women.” It’s definitely time for bed now. ✌️

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7 points

Yay for prison. And crush his balls first.

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8 points

State-sponsored torture is still torture. And, in my opinion, worse.

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1 point
*

This sounds cruel and unusual.

Please do not forget that we are NOT him.

Sometimes the hardest thing in life is to be a portrait of yourself, rather then a mirror reflecting the world around you.

My paint is fading…

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11 points

A woman who made crush videos involving kittens ended up being posted on 4chan. They did their thing. Last I heard she was never heard from again.

4chan is a true agent of chaos but sometimes they focus their powers on the right people.

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2 points

Chaotic neutral at best. I tried 4chan a bit but hated the captchca system to post so looks like yall are stuck with me!

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2 points

I’ve tried it more than a few times over the years. 99% of the time it’s porn and racism. It’s a website that’s best viewed at a distance with people take screenshots of the shit that’s actually worth seeing.

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2 points

Assume the worst, and maybe one day you will be presently surprised.

One day…

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44 points

This psycho is only facing 5 years in prison?! Yikes

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35 points
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Depending on the monkey or ape species I feel like this is on par with torturing human babies or young toddlers. They’re completely helpless and as intelligent and self-aware.

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3 points

I think I last heard the words “monkey torture” in the ‘Barry Lutz Show’ sketch by The State in 1994. Can’t find a copy of it on YouTube, ebaumsworld has a copy but it didn’t want to load for me and the site itself is ad heavy - direct link to the .flv should work but might not play natively in browser. To be clear, the video link is a comedy bit about psychologically torturing monkeys and doesn’t show or inflict any harm to any.

I don’t have anything meaningful to add to the discussion about the IRL monkey abuse so I’m hoping to inject a little bit of levity to an otherwise terrible subject.

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2 points

Not sure why you’re getting downvoted, I thought of the same thing.

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2 points
*

I want to see them make little edible luggage, because that does sound good. I have the DVD box set, and a friend of mine whom I used to date and I bonded over The State when we met in 2014. Terrific stuff.

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2 points

Pretty wild how most of that troupe had successful careers in entertainment even outside of stuff they did together. I’m glad at least a couple other people remember the show fondly :)

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