Amanda Leigh Fourez Pleads Guilty to Commissioning the Graphic Genital Mutilation of Infant Monkeys in Deranged Chat Groups

An Illinois woman who bankrolled the sexual torture of monkeys through encrypted online payment rings has pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges, becoming the second member of a conspiracy ring to do so in a matter of weeks.

Amanda Leigh Fourez, 33, of Catlin, Illinois, admitted in federal court on 15 April 2026 that she paid thousands of dollars to commission so-called 'animal crush videos' depicting baby and adult monkeys being burned alive and having their genitals mutilated.

She entered her plea before United States District Judge Christy Criswell Wiegand and admitted to two charges: distributing animal crush videos and conspiracy to create and distribute them through private online chat groups. Fourez now faces up to seven years in federal prison and fines reaching £385,000 ($500,000), with sentencing scheduled for 27 August 2026.

A Bespoke Commission Market Built on Pooled Payments

Court documents and statements made during the change of plea hearing describe a structured, methodical operation. Fourez was a member of several online chat groups and private payment groups dedicated entirely to the creation, distribution and discussion of sexual and violent footage depicting monkeys being tortured. She did not passively consume the material but actively financed it, sending at least 11 separate payments to commission custom-made videos.

The resulting footage showed baby and adult monkeys being burned alive, having their limbs broken and having their genitals mutilated, according to the Department of Justice press release.

After receiving the videos, Fourez distributed them across chat groups on at least 10 separate occasions, archiving the material and controlling its dissemination through an instant messaging application.

The charges fall under the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010, which defines animal crush videos as recordings of actual conduct in which living non-human mammals are purposely crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled, or otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury for purposes of sexual gratification. The law was enacted after the Supreme Court struck down an earlier federal statute in 2010.

The Federal Investigation

The case was built by two federal agencies: Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New Orleans' Cyber and Human Exploitation Investigations unit and the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office. It is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Emily R. Stone of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly M. Locher for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

ICE Director Todd M. Lyons addressed the case publicly following the announcement. 'Fourez admitted to her role in making these horrific videos and posting them online,' Lyons said in a statement released by ICE.

'What kind of sick person would pay someone to make a video of sexualized animal torture? ICE will continue investigating these sadistic online groups and do everything in our power to stop them.'

US Attorney Troy Rivetti, whose office in the Western District of Pennsylvania is prosecuting the case, has framed animal cruelty prosecutions in terms of broader public safety. 'Intentionally inflicting harm and torture on innocent animals not only feeds a broader market of criminal depravity, it also often is linked to, or leads to, additional dangerous and violent conduct that further erodes society and public safety,' Rivetti said during the announcement of the related Buckland case earlier in April.

A Wider Conspiracy

Fourez is the second individual tied to this specific animal crush conspiracy ring to enter a guilty plea. Joseph Garrett Buckland, of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on 1 April 2026 to one count of conspiracy to create and distribute animal crush videos.

Court documents in his case show that Buckland personally collected money from co-conspirators to fund the production of torture videos, operating through the same encrypted chat network. His sentencing is scheduled for 29 October 2026.

The ring's dimensions extend further still. In March 2026, Katrina Favret, of Greeneville, Tennessee, was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty the previous November to conspiring to create and distribute animal crush videos.

Court documents in Favret's case show she directed funds to individuals in Indonesia via encrypted chat applications, sending written instructions detailing the specific acts of torture she wanted filmed. The resulting footage was then distributed across the same type of private online networks now tied to Fourez.

The Fourez announcement was made by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the ENRD alongside US Attorney Rivetti, HSI New Orleans Acting Special Agent in Charge Matt Wright, and FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Richard Evanchec. The investigation into connected individuals in these online networks is ongoing.

Sentencing Exposure and the Road to 27 August

Fourez faces a maximum of five years in prison on the conspiracy charge and a maximum of seven years on the distribution charge, with a potential fine of up to £385,000 ($500,000). Judge Wiegand will determine the final sentence after weighing the federal sentencing guidelines and all relevant factors in the case. The Department of Justice has not publicly disclosed the terms of any plea agreement.

The case moves to sentencing on 27 August 2026. Federal prosecutors have signalled through public statements that the investigation into the broader network remains active, leaving open the possibility of further charges against other members of the online groups to which Fourez belonged.

Fourez's guilty plea adds another named defendant to a federal crackdown on animal crush networks that has now produced prison sentences and guilty pleas across three states, with investigators making clear the prosecutions are far from finished.