Holly LeGresley, a 37-year-old from Kidderminster, Worcestershire, has admitted to her involvement in a disturbing global network involved in the torture of monkeys. She pleaded guilty to uploading 22 images and 132 videos of the cruel acts to online chat groups, under the alias ‘The Immolator’. LeGresley faced charges of publishing obscene material and promoting animal cruelty at Worcester Magistrates’ Court.

The authorities were alerted to her activities by the National Wildlife Crime Unit following a BBC investigation which exposed a scheme where individuals in Indonesia were paid to torture and kill baby monkeys for these videos. The videos were then shared among private online groups.

LeGresley was reported to have even polled members of the online group on methods of torturing the monkeys. Another defendant, Adriana Orme, is also implicated in the case but did not enter a plea. Her case is set to be judged separately.

With the severity and sadism of the crimes underlined by the prosecutors, the magistrate stressed that all sentencing options would be considered. LeGresley’s sentencing is scheduled for June 7, while Orme will appear before the court on June 5. Both defendants have been granted conditional bail with the stipulation that they must not have unsupervised contact with any animals or children.

The case has now been transferred to Worcester Crown Court due to its complexity and the severity of the offences involved.