A New Jersey man was sentenced to four years in federal prison for creating and distributing videos showing monkeys being tortured and abused, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Giancarlo Morelli, of Wharton, pleaded guilty earlier this year in a Cincinnati federal court to participating in online groups dedicated to producing and sharing videos depicting acts of extreme violence and sexual abuse against monkeys, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio said.

Conspirators used encrypted chat apps to send payments to individuals in Indonesia who carried out the requested acts of torture on camera, prosecutors said.

The graphic footage — often referred to as “animal crush videos” — included scenes of baby and adolescent monkeys being tortured in a multitude of ways, inclu

See Full Page