Arizona man pleads guilty to charges related to monkey torture videos

An Arizona man pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring to create and distribute disturbing videos depicting extreme monkey torture.

Ernest Chavez, aka Lax, and 10 other people were indicted in May 2025 in connection with “animal crush” videos, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Three of them — Mary Longoria and Patrick Naylor of North Carolina, and Kimberly Anglin of Connecticut — previously pleaded guilty to charges related to their roles in the conspiracy and are scheduled for sentencing in December. Chavez’s sentencing date was not announced.

Prosecutors said Chavez and the others were involved in online groups dedicated to the proliferation of monkey torture videos.

They communicated over Telegram to generate ideas for videos and funneled money to Indonesia to get them made, according to court documents.

Two others were previously sentenced to prison for monkey torture videos

Two other people were indicted in connection with the monkey torture videos in June 2024: Giancarlo Morelli of New Jersey and Nicholas T. Dryden of Ohio.

Morelli was sentenced to four years in federal prison in September 2025, and Dryden was sentenced to nine years in July 2026. Prosecutors said Dryden sold the videos online after paying a minor who lived in Indonesia to make them.

“This sadistic and obscene conduct is unacceptable in any civilized society, and Dryden will rightfully spend time in prison for his actions,” U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II for the Southern District of Ohio said in a statement after Dryden’s sentencing.

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