Monkey torturer who led online 'cult' that clubbed animals to death with a hammer recieves light sentenceBrigid Brown &
Bartosz Poklek was captured after he attempted to obtain official court documents related to a separate, ongoing monkey torture criminal case in the United States -Credit:Daily Star (Daily Star)
The ringleader of an international network of "zoo sadists" dedicated to torturing and killing monkeys for gratification has been handed a prison sentence of more than three years. He was also discovered in possession of disturbing child abuse imagery.
Bartosz Poklek, 30, distributed "horrific" footage of animal cruelty that sold for as much as $500 per clip, authored scripts detailing how the animals should be mutilated, dismembered and tortured, and directed the methods by which the monkeys would be killed, including being beaten to death with a hammer.
Woolwich Crown Court heard that Poklek, from Bexley in south-east London, held a dominant role within the "monkey hate" online community, running chat groups and distributing thousands of "abuse on demand" videos and images, reports the Daily Star.
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Some of the monkeys were dressed as infants while being brutally attacked, fueling growing concerns that the animals are being used as "proxies" by individuals seeking to witness sadistic abuse of children.
On Friday, Judge Christopher Grout handed Poklek a sentence of three years and three months in prison.
While the actual animal abuse and filming took place in Southeast Asia, Poklek orchestrated and managed the global ring from his home in the U.K. -Credit:Action for Primates
The judge described the details of the "despicable" online community, telling the court: "It is no exaggeration to say that as a lawyer or as a judge I have never encountered such a horrific case of animal abuse in my life."
"The facts of the offending are truly appalling, likely to cause distress to anyone listening to or reading about them. There is a vile underground community that has a hatred of monkeys, particularly baby monkeys, and takes pleasure in seeing such monkeys being tortured and killed."
The judge noted that Poklek will be freed after serving roughly a third of his prison term, while also urging Parliament to consider tougher penalties for animal cruelty, which currently carries a maximum sentence of five years.
"If ever there was a case that demonstrates that the statutory maximum for animal cruelty is too low, this is it," he said. The court heard that the abuse is taking place in South-East Asia, where macaque monkeys are subjected to prolonged torture on camera for an international online audience.
The judge explained that "zoo sadists" are lured into the network after expressing interest in animal abuse material posted on YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok, before being directed to more secure platforms such as Discord and Telegram.
He disclosed that some users paid to "adopt" a monkey, giving them the power to dictate the nature of the torture, while those within the network could submit requests for sadistic abuse.
Prosecutor Alex Kettle-Williams told the court that Poklek, known online as "BP," administered a chat group called "BP empire," and was "a controlling figure in what is known as the 'monkey hate community."
Kettle-Williams reported that police uncovered evidence that Poklek had commissioned the killing of a stump-tailed monkey, written scripts outlining how the videos would be made, and repeatedly demanded death by hammer.
She said: "There are requests and conversations about how the death should be carried out after significant torture."
The prosecutor disclosed that police had recovered thousands of videos during their investigation into Poklek. To illustrate the extent of the cruelty, she directed the judge's attention to a 39-minute video depicting a baby monkey being tortured through the administration of alcohol, being set on fire, and bound with zip ties.
In a separate video lasting nearly half an hour, another baby monkey was horrifically mutilated with scissors while visibly still alive. Poklek was arrested after he attempted to gain access to court documents related to a monkey torture criminal case in the U.S.
Following a joint investigation involving British officers from the National Wildlife Crime Unit, the Metropolitan Police, West Mercia Police, along with officials from U.S. Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Poklek admitted to running a "large-scale monkey torture ring" between June 2023 and September 2025.
He also confessed to publishing obscene videos for profit, as well as possession of indecent images of children and possession of ketamine.
Kettle-Williams highlighted that Poklek's possession of child abuse images and videos resembled those discovered in cases prosecuted against others implicated in monkey torture worldwide.
She explained that police had gathered evidence revealing monkeys are sometimes dressed in bonnets and nappies, and fed with a babies' milk bottle, sparking concerns that monkeys are being treated as "proxy infants" by users interested in violent child abuse.
Alexia Nicol, who is representing Poklek, informed the court that he "finds it difficult to explain how he became involved in this".
She suggested he was seeking "kudos" as an organizer of the network, rather than financial gain, and added: "He is someone who was in isolation, sitting on the internet, using drugs, and in effect slipped further into a world where the boundaries became less and less clear."
Adeolu Odusote, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Bartosz Poklek was a key cog in a vile trade that oversaw and encouraged the sickening torture of monkeys. Treating vulnerable animals in this way is a horrifying practice that must be rooted out wherever it's found."
"We're grateful for the extensive efforts of both our domestic and international partners in helping us build the strongest possible prosecution against him. This resulted in Poklek pleading guilty to the crimes for which he has now been sentenced."
Source: Crime