55-year-old grandmother admits uploading a picture and 26 videos of tortured monkeys to online chat rooms as part of a global animal abuse network

A grandmother appeared in court today to admit her involvement in a global monkey torture network that involved sadistically beating, burning and even dousing animals with acid.

Adriana Orme, 55, admitted publishing an obscene article by uploading an image and 26 video recordings of monkey torture to online chat rooms over a two-month period in 2022.

The Dutch woman also admitted to intentionally encouraging or assisting the unnecessary suffering of a protected animal by making a payment of £10 via PayPal in April of that year.

During a brief hearing at Worcester Crown Court, Judge James Burbidge KC heard the grandmother of two had pleaded guilty to an offence of attempting to “out” others involved in the torture at the outset of her offending, a position the judge said left him “baffled”.

The court was also read a statement from Orme in which she said she was convinced that her “physical and mental health played a role in my offending”.

The court was also read a statement from Orme in which she said she believed her “physical and mental health played a role in my offending”.

A year-long BBC investigation into the torture network uncovered a chain of participants around the globe who “commissioned” people living in Thailand or Indonesia to film the torture of monkeys and later publish the footage on the Internet.

The 55-year-old is alleged to have published an obscene article by uploading an image and 26 videos of monkey torture between April 14 and June 16, 2022, and to have encouraged or assisted the infliction of unnecessary suffering by paying £10 into a PayPal account on April 26, 2022.

At an earlier hearing in May, co-defendant Holly LeGresley, 37, admitted to being part of the same monkey torture ring in which lunatics paid to kill the animals for fun.

LeGresley was known online as “The Immolator” and was said to be the moderator of one of the most active groups, which sadistically beat, burn and even douse monkeys with acid. The blood-obsessed woman, who lives with her mother and grandmother, had previously described Hannibal Lecter, a serial killer who eats his victims, and Pennywise, the child-harassing clown from IT, as her “horror icons.”

However, other social media posts show her cradling and cuddling cockatiels or holding a tarantula. In one post, LeGresley portrayed herself as an animal lover and even an activist against animal cruelty.

A year-long BBC investigation into the torture network revealed a chain of participants around the world who “commissioned” people in Thailand or Indonesia to film the torture of monkeys to later share online.

At an earlier hearing in May, co-defendant Holly LeGresley (pictured), 37, admitted to being part of the same monkey torture ring in which madmen paid to have the animals killed for fun.

She is also awaiting sentencing after admitting uploading 22 images and 132 videos of tortured monkeys to online chat groups. LeGresley also admitted paying £17.24 to a contact via PayPal to encourage or assist the commission of acts causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

The crimes confessed to by each woman carry a maximum prison sentence of five years.

At an earlier hearing at Worcester Magistrates Court, prosecutor Angla(corr) said West Mercia Police had been informed by the National Wildlife Crime Unit of Orme and LeGresley's alleged role in the torture network and LeGresley and Orme had been identified as members of online chat groups. Ms Hallan said the case fell into the category of “sadism and grievous bodily harm”. The type of monkeys involved in the abuse were not named in court but it is believed that young long-tailed monkeys were tortured.

The court found that although neither woman was accused of committing monkey cruelty themselves, “their communications suggest a desire to do so and they expressed their hatred of pregnant women and babies.”

Ms Hallan added: “In this case the monkeys have a very childlike appearance.”

The global torture ring began on YouTube before moving to private groups on Telegram, the BBC World Service investigation found.

BBC journalists conducted undercover investigations into one of Telegram's main torture groups, where hundreds of people met to plan torture ideas and commission people in Indonesia and other Asian countries to carry them out.

The BBC has tracked down the torturers in Indonesia and the buyers and dealers in the US.

They also managed to reach international law enforcement agencies to have them punished for their actions, resulting in at least 20 people – including Orme and LeGresley – being investigated worldwide.

In a secretly filmed video, a participant named Ajis Rasjana tells an undercover reporter that he slams the monkeys against the wall when he is “very, very angry.” He was sentenced to eight months – the maximum sentence for animal cruelty in Indonesia.

One of the main participants was referred to as the “torture king” in the videos. Mike McCartney, reportedly a major video distributor in the US, described to BBC journalists the moment he joined his first monkey torture group on Telegram.

During a brief hearing at Worcester Crown Court (pictured), Judge James Burbidge KC heard the grandmother of two had pleaded guilty to an offence of attempting to “out” others involved in the torture at the outset of her offending, a position which the judge said “bewildered” him.

McCartney, who according to the BBC was a member of a motorcycle gang and served a prison sentence last year before joining the monkey torture network, remarked: “They did a poll. Do you want a hammer? Do you want pliers? Do you want a screwdriver?”

He said the following video was “the most grotesque thing I have ever seen.”

McCartney led a number of Telegram groups in which torture enthusiasts shared videos.

Releasing Orme on bail this afternoon, Judge Burbidge warned the soft-spoken defendant to prepare for a prison sentence when she returns to court in October to hear sentence – possibly alongside LeGresley, of Kidderminster, Worcestershire.

The judge told Orme, from Upton-upon-Seven in Worcestershire: “The more I read about this case, the more disturbing it becomes, I fear, and the more outrageous your conduct appears to me.”

The judge added that psychiatric reports would be prepared for both defendants, who “obviously … suffer from mental illnesses”.