As an international animal advocacy organization that manages a primate sanctuary, we are horrified to learn about a Connecticut duo, Kimberly A. Anglin and Mark M. Sampieri (who also went by The Chef or SainT), who are accused of conspiring with others to create and distribute graphic videos showing brutal acts of violence and sexual abuse against monkeys, according to federal prosecutors. 

These types of gruesome videos, made for the sick gratification of viewers, are illegal under The Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act (signed into law in 2010), which prohibits the sale and distribution of “crush” videos.  The Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, introduced by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and signed into law in 2019, makes the violent acts recorded in them illegal as well.

The videos reportedly show monkeys being mutilated, including having their genitals burned and cut with scissors. Some videos also allegedly depict monkeys being sodomized with foreign objects, prosecutors said. Investigators say Anglin and Sampieri were part of an underground network that paid for the videos now under federal investigation. According to the indictment, the defendants worked with Nicholas T. Dryden of Cincinnati, who allegedly funneled money to a minor in Indonesia to carry out the abuse on camera. The indictment includes 79 separate acts in which defendants are accused of funding the abuse and requesting specific violent acts.

“This case is one of the most horrific examples of animal abuse we’ve seen,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division told the media. “We are committed to holding accountable those who fund and promote this cruelty.”

The 9 other defendants include:

Ernest D. Chavez — also known as Lax — from Arizona;

Hugh T. Campbell — also known as Tim Templeton — from Pennsylvania;

Carter G. Fawcett — also known as Captain — from Colorado;

Brady O. Shellhammer — also known as Beglu or Bbbeglu — from Louisiana;

Jimmy Wong — also known as Yasser Lopez — from New York;

Victoria S. Haskins — also known as Cat Face or Sparkles Fancy Pants — from Louisiana;

Vance H. Beadles — also known as Mr. Green — from Kentucky;

Mary L. Longoria — also known as R6 or R6ex — from North Carolina; and

Patrick C. Naylor — also known as YANTF or YANTF 2x — from North Carolina.

If convicted, they could each face up to five years in prison. As far as we are concerned, lock them up and throw away the key!

Primates are not playthings or pets.

That’s why Friends of Animals is advocating for the passage of the Captive Primate Safety Act, which was reintroduced by Congress May 6. It would end the cruel and selfish pet primate trade in the United States.

The bill is sponsored by Reps. Mike Quigley (D-IL), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Julia Brownley (D-CA), and Nancy Mace (R-SC), and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).

Friends of Animals knows all too well that primates—who are highly social and intelligent—belong in the wild and not exploited as pets. A staggering 100 of our 199 primates at Primarily Primates are ex-pets—including lemurs, spider monkeys, capuchins and chimps.

They were often kept alone in small cages without the ability to socialize and bond with their own kind. Their lives were dismal. Some arrive overweight with nervous habits, such as self-harm or feverishly pacing their enclosure.

When Congressman Blumenthal was CT’s Attorney General and called FoA about making the privatization of primates and other wildlife illegal in the state, he said it wasn’t so much that they’re dangerous to us as WE are dangerous to them by privatizing them.  

We couldn’t agree more.