Two women have been jailed for their part in a monkey torture ring and behavior described by the judge as “depraved, mean and vicious”.

Adriana Orme, 56, from Upton upon Severn, and Holly Le Gresley, 37, from Kidderminster, previously admitted being part of the global network.

Worcester Crown Court heard graphic details of the suffering experienced by young macaques in Indonesia – with the footage sold to people around the world.

Le Gresley, who the judge said played a “leading role”, was jailed for two years, while Orme received a 15-month sentence.

Warning: This article contains upsetting and disturbing content

More than 130 videos and 22 images were uploaded by Le Gresley, who the court heard was an archivist, cataloging and sharing some of the images.

She also made a payment to a PayPal account to encourage cruelty.

Meanwhile, Orme pleaded guilty to publishing an obscene article by uploading an image and 26 videos of monkey torture and encouraging or assisting unnecessary suffering by making a £10 payment to a PayPal account.

Women’s roles were exposed after a BBC investigation into the network which started life on YouTube, before moving to private groups on the messaging app Telegram.

The online group paid for baby long-tailed macaque monkeys to be taken from their mothers and then tortured and killed.

Members even voted on the proposed methods.

A protest was held outside the court before the hearing and animal rights activists to be allowed into the gallery.

Jailing the women, Judge James Burbidge KC described their behavior as “deplorable, despicable and sadistic”.

He said their crimes defied any sense of compassion and were “beyond comprehension for the majority of society”.

“You promoted the physical torture of monkeys by others, shared videos and images of such torture and abuse, preserved images and videos for what appeared to be your own pleasure and amusement,” he said.

He told Le Gresley that he had “caused significant pain, torture and death to monkeys in Indonesia”.

In total, police recovered thousands of files from 20 devices owned by the women in a year-long investigation.

Speaking after the sentence, West Mercia Police described it as a landmark case.

Det Ch Insp Ben Arrowsmith said it was the first time in British legal history that “animal cruelty charges have been brought for offenses which took place abroad where the offenders are in the UK”.

“The deviant hatred and fascination that the defendants have shown for the cruelty and abuse of monkeys is incomprehensible,” he said.

“The suffering the animals endured is cruel and sadistic; it is impossible to understand how anyone could find it pleasant.”

The force said both women watched the videos, expressed delight at the images and regularly shared material.

Inspector Kevin Lacks-Kelly, head of the national wildlife crime unit, said it was the worst cruelty he had ever seen.

Despite this being the latest in a series of high-profile criminal cases, he said the “transnational investigation” into the global network was still ongoing.

In mitigation, Tom Walkling, representing Le Gresley, said she had lived with the knowledge of how she had behaved, had a long history of depression and anxiety and was “likely to be diagnosed with autistic disorder”.

The court also heard that Le Gresley now believed he had post-traumatic stress disorder from the videos.

Curtis Myrie, representing Orme, said she had several physical ailments and described her as “a loving mother and grandmother”.

The court also heard that pre-sentence reports acknowledged how well she looked after her rescue dog, Diesel.

“Beyond Understanding”

The judge, however, disputed some of the claims made by the defense teams and rejected their requests to suspend the sentences.

He also referred to Le Gresley’s knowledge of the jail time she could face if caught, based on comments police found in a chat.

After the hearing, Sarah Kite, from Action for Primates, who gave evidence, said: “The total lack of empathy both women showed for the terror and suffering of the monkeys, some just days old, is so disturbing.

“To pay for someone to cause such violence is beyond comprehension.”

US animal rights group Lady Freethinker, which also helped prosecute the global network, said “the horrors inflicted on innocent baby monkeys for online videos is outrageous”.

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