Nicholas Dryden & Giancarlo Morelli Charged for Conspiracy to Sexually Abuse Monkeys on Camera

[Sugar Cookie]

Two individuals were charged this week for their involvement with online groups dedicated to creating and distributing videos depicting acts of extreme violence and sexual abuse against monkeys.

Nicholas T. Dryden, of Ohio, and Giancarlo Morelli, of New Jersey, were charged with conspiracy to create and distribute so-called “animal crush videos,” and with distributing animal crush videos. Dryden is also charged with the creation of animal crush videos, as well as with production, distribution and receipt of a visual depiction of the sexual abuse of children because a minor was paid to abuse the monkeys.

According to court documents, in March and April 2023, the two co-defendants allegedly conspired to create and distribute videos depicting acts of sadistic violence against baby, adolescent and adult monkeys. The conspirators allegedly funneled money through Dryden, who then paid the minor in Indonesia to commit the requested acts on camera.

The videos alleged to have been created as part of the conspiracy included depictions of monkeys having their genitals burned, having their genitals cut with scissors, being sodomized with a wooden skewer and being sodomized with a spoon.

The conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, the charges related to the creation and distribution of animal crush videos each carry a maximum penalty of seven years in prison and the charges of producing and distributing depictions of the sexual abuse of children each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Two Charged for Involvement with Online Groups Dedicated to Monkey Torture and Mutilation

Two individuals were charged for their involvement with online groups dedicated to creating and distributing videos depicting acts of extreme violence and sexual abuse against monkeys.

www.justice.gov

 

[Sugar Cookie]

Eleven people have been indicted on federal charges for their alleged involvement with online groups dedicated to so-called "animal crush videos".

The 11 people from Arizona to Connecticut, including one from Kentucky are accused of conspiring with Nicholas Dryden, of Cincinnati, to create the videos.


The indictment details 79 acts in which the defendants allegedly paid Dryden who then paid a minor in Indonesia to commit the requested acts on camera, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Kelly A. Norris.

The videos include depictions of monkeys having their genitals burned, having their genitals cut with scissors, being sodomized with a wooden skewer and a spoon, according to Norris.

Dryden pleaded guilty in March, according to court records.

11 accused of paying Cincinnati man for production of monkey torture videos

Eleven people have been indicted for their alleged involvement with online groups dedicated to so-called "animal crush videos".

dayton247now.com

Those charged include:

Name	Also Known As	Residence
Ernest D. Chavez	Lax	Arizona
Hugh T. Campbell	Tim Templeton	Pennsylvania
Carter G. Fawcett	Captain	Colorado
Brady O. Shellhammer	Beglu, Bbbeglu	Louisiana
Jimmy Wong	Yasser Lopez	New York
Kimberly A. Anglin	Kim Anglin	Connecticut
Mark M. Sampieri	The Chef, SainT	Connecticut
Victoria S. Haskins	Cat Face, Sparkles Fancy Pants	Louisiana
Vance H. Beadles	Mr. Green	Kentucky
Mary L. Longoria	R6, R6ex	North Carolina
Patrick C. Naylor	YANTF, YANTF 2x	North Carolina

The indictment details 79 overt acts in which defendants allegedly paid Dryden who then paid a minor in Indonesia to commit the requested acts on camera.


“The acts of torture and abuse of young monkeys alleged in this case are beyond disturbing,” stated FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge Elena Iatarola. “As a result of the work of the FBI, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and our partners, those involved in the conspiracy to create and distribute these repulsive videos are being held accountable.”

If convicted as charged, these defendants face maximum penalties of five years in prison.

Grand jury indicts 11 more individuals for involvement with online groups dedicated to monkey torture & mutilation

CINCINNATI – An indictment was unsealed today charging 11 defendants from across the United States for their alleged involvement with online groups dedicated to creating and distributing videos depicting acts of extreme violence and sexual abuse against monkeys.

www.justice.gov

 

[BuffettGirl]

How are there even this many people that get off on that?

 

[Sugar Cookie]

The videos, which were shared online, showed baby monkeys being crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled and mutilated.

A federal judge in Cincinnati on Sept. 30 said the videos were among the most horrific things she had heard about in three decades on the bench.

“I’m sorry I even know what they are,” U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott said at a sentencing for a man who paid more than $1,200 for multiple videos – and even made requests about what acts of torture he wanted to see.

The man, 39-year-old Giancarlo Morelli, a car salesman from New Jersey, was one of multiple people charged locally last year in connection with the videos.

Dlott sentenced Morelli, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute animal crush videos, to four years in prison and ordered him to pay a $25,000 fine.

The videos are illegal under a 2010 federal law that criminalizes so-called animal crush videos.

A second defendant, 28-year-old Nicholas Dryden of Cincinnati’s English Woods neighborhood, attempted to plead guilty on Sept. 30, but Dlott rejected the plea.

Dlott didn’t fully explain her decision. Dryden faced a maximum of 12 years in prison, but the plea agreement called for a seven-year sentence. Dlott indicated that she wanted to impose a sentence longer than seven years.

Prosecutors say Dryden paid a 17-year-old boy in Indonesia to create videos showing the torture. The monkeys in the videos were baby or juvenile long-tailed macaques.

Prosecutors say Dryden paid a 17-year-old boy in Indonesia to create videos showing the torture. The monkeys in the videos were baby or juvenile long-tailed macaques.

Morelli participated in numerous Telegram chats in which people shared videos and talked about acts of torture they wanted to see. One group had more than 400 members, court documents say.

Morelli’s requests, according to prosecutors, led Dryden to ask the Indonesian boy to find a baby monkey and create a video that is described in court documents.

Read with caution

Spoiler

In that 30-minute video, the baby monkey is first fed pieces of a banana. The person recording the video eventually kicks the monkey, then bends and twists its arms, “appearing to break them,” the documents say. The monkey can be seen trying to crawl across the floor “in obvious pain.”

The monkey’s genitals are burned with a candle, and it is placed in a cage with a mongoose, which attacks it. The videographer then breaks the monkey’s legs before throwing it against a wall and the floor.

Prosecutors say Morelli paid for that video and only stopped buying videos from Dryden after Dryden was arrested.

In one Telegram exchange about a video, Dryden says, “He beats it to death and cuts its (genitals) off.”

Morelli's response: “Yes finally!”

At the Sept. 30 sentencing, Morelli, wearing a gray suit, read a statement, apologizing for what he did. Although sober now, Morelli said a heroin addiction that he hid from his wife and child was at least partly to blame.

"All God's creatures should be respected and cared for," he told Dlott, adding: “I am extremely sorry for my actions, and the harm brought to these animals.”

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/crime/2025/10/01/man-sentenced-animal-crush-videos-baby-monkeys-mutilated-suffocated/86444353007/

Death must have been a relief for that monkey. I do not believe this man and I hope that something in his future brings as much pain and terror to him as he did to that monkey.