Michael Macartney, 50, confessed to the BBC his role in an extreme monkey torture network.

A ringleader in a global monkey torture network exposed by the BBC has been charged by US federal prosecutors.

Michael Macartney, 50, who went by the alias “Torture King”, was charged in Virginia with conspiracy to create and distribute animal-crushing videos.

Mr Macartney was one of three key distributors identified by the BBC Eye team during a year-long investigation into sadistic monkey torture groups.

Two women have also been charged in the UK following the investigation.

Warning: This article contains disturbing content

Mr Macartney, a former motorcycle gang member who previously spent time in prison, ran several chat groups for monkey torture enthusiasts from around the world on the encrypted messaging app Telegram.

    • mechoman444
      32•3 months ago

      Monkey. Torture. Enthusiast.

      Never thought I’d see those words together in a row.

      • @stembolts
        16•3 months ago

        There is a lengthy BBC article that went into the discovery of this network. Thank journalists. Without journalists this network would likely be alive, well, and thriving. Journalists infiltrated the group and started passing info to the authorities.

        When people lament the loss of journalism, catching people like this is what we are losing.

        The Investigation.

        • @[email protected]English
          2•3 months ago

          investigative journalism is the UV light to the problems in society.

          Which is why those in power have done everything they can to buy up these journalism outlets and destroy their investigative teams.

          • @stembolts
            1•3 months ago

            It’s painful to see. And obvious the motivations.

          • @[email protected]
            0•3 months ago

            You’ve just criticised someone for “sticking their nose in” and now you’re defending investigative journalism?

            You really live up to your username.

      • @[email protected]
        3•3 months ago

        It sounds unreal. Like, it looks like it’s the name of a punk band, not an accurate description of a human that exists.