Amanda Leigh Fourez Pleads Guilty to Paying for Animal Crush Videos

Amanda Leigh Fourez, a woman from Catlin, Illinois, pleaded guilty to federal charges for her role in a sick online animal abuse ring. She paid thousands of dollars to have people create videos showing monkeys being tortured in horrific ways.

Prosecutors say Fourez worked with others to pool money together. They used these funds to pay for videos of people crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating, and impaling monkeys. The videos targeted both adult and baby monkeys.

Fourez then distributed these "animal crush" videos through online chat groups. These groups existed for people who get sexual gratification from watching animals suffer and die.

The case was handled by federal authorities including ICE and the Department of Justice. Animal crush videos violate federal laws designed to prevent animal cruelty and protect animals from torture for entertainment.

This prosecution is part of a broader crackdown on underground networks that create and share extreme animal abuse content online.