A Wisconsin man was sentenced this week to 12 months and one day in prison for violating the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act.
Kenneth J. Herrera, 40, of Soldiers Grove, had previously pleaded guilty for creating, selling and distributing an animal crushing video.
Animal crushing includes burning, suffocating, impaling or causing the serious bodily injury of animals. The judge also sentenced Herrera to three years of supervised release and to pay a $5,000 fine.
In 2021, Herrera paid a videographer in Indonesia $100 for a video of a monkey being physically abused.
According to authorities, Herrera sent specific instructions asking the videographer to pick up the monkey by the genitalia using pliers and then hit it on the head with a hammer.
The videographer sent Herrera the video via an encrypted messaging application.
The PACT Act makes creating or distributing depictions of animal crushing that will be sold or distributed internationally or between states is illegal.
“Animal-crushing videos cruelly force animals into a cycle of fear, violence, and death for personal gratification or profit,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We are committed to aggressively pursuing and prosecuting anyone who engages in the creation or distribution of animal crush videos.”
“Video recordings of animal torture are cruel, inhumane and illegal,” said U.S. Attorney Timothy M. O’Shea for the Western District of Wisconsin. “Evidence shows that animal torture can be a precursor to other violent crimes. Our office will work with law enforcement, domestically and internationally, to investigate and prosecute all crimes of this nature.”
The FBI and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Mark T. Romley of the Justice Department Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chadwick Elgersma for the Western District of Wisconsin prosecuted the case.