Understand
Ringleader of global monkey torture network jailed in the UK
Overview
Bartosz Poklek, the 30-year-old ringleader of an international network that produced and distributed horrific videos of monkeys being tortured and killed for entertainment, has been sentenced to three years and three months in prison at Woolwich Crown Court.
Key points
- Bartosz Poklek admitted running a large-scale monkey torture ring between June 2023 and September 2025.
- He distributed videos that sold for hundreds of pounds and wrote scripts detailing how the animals should be harmed.
- Judge Christopher Grout described it as the most horrific case of animal abuse he had ever encountered and called for longer statutory sentences.
- Poklek was caught after attempting to obtain court documents from a monkey torture criminal case in the United States.
- He also pleaded guilty to publishing obscene videos for gain, possession of indecent images of children, and possession of ketamine.