An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigation led to the conviction of a Florida man who was distributing more than 40 “animal crushing videos,” officials reported. Some of the videos depicted the physical and sexual torture of monkeys.
Francisco Javier Ravelo, a U.S. citizen living in Florida, pleaded guilty earlier this month in federal court to charges related to the Animal Crushing statute, according to a statement released this week. The 36-year-old man faces up to seven years in federal prison following the investigation led by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
“Homeland Security Investigations pieced together the case that led to Ravelo’s guilty plea,” said ICE Director Todd M. Lyons. “He personally distributed more than 40 animal crushing videos to other people, but he didn’t count on HSI being able to track him down, pull together evidence and present it to the judge. Now he knows better. I hope this serves as a warning to others who acquire or distribute this kind of content: HSI will find you, and you’ll end up in federal court just like Ravelo did.”
The Department of Justice revealed that Ravelo ran online chat groups that focused on the distribution and discussion of sexual and violent videos. Some of the videos showed monkeys being mutilated and burned, officials stated. The videos included baby and adult monkeys. Prosecutors said Ravelo personally posted more than 40 “obscene crush videos.”
“In his first term, President Donald J. Trump signed the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act into law to end animal crushing,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “If you are involved in this sadistic activity, we will prosecute you.”
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida added, “As a former state court trial judge who presided over domestic violence cases, I was trained to recognize lethality factors, warning signs that violence is escalating. Deliberate cruelty to animals is one of the clearest red flags. It reflects a willingness to dominate, torture, and inflict suffering without remorse. The defendant didn’t merely view this material. He created and administered online groups devoted to it and distributed dozens of obscene animal torture videos. That conduct fuels a market built on brutality. Animal crushing is a serious federal crime. In the Southern District of Florida, we will enforce that law firmly and without hesitation.”
ICE HSI special agents worked with local U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service teams and the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division to conduct the investigation leading to this conviction.
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran and serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.
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