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CINCINNATI (WKRC) - A Cincinnati man was sentenced to nine years in federal prison after admitting he conspired to create and distribute videos depicting the torture and sexual abuse of monkeys.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Nicholas T. Dryden, of Cincinnati, was sentenced Tuesday to 108 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, Dryden pleaded guilty to creating so-called "animal crush videos" and conspiring to create and distribute the videos.
Federal prosecutors said that in 2023, Dryden paid a minor in Indonesia to create videos showing monkeys being tortured and abused. Authorities said Dryden then sold the videos through online groups that he administered to numerous individuals.
According to court records and statements of facts signed by Dryden, the videos depicted baby and adolescent monkeys being tortured in multiple ways, including having their genitals burned and cut off.
"The conduct perpetrated by these defendants was reprehensible," Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division said in a statement. "Congress has said clearly that this conduct has no place in our society, and the Department of Justice stands ready to prosecute those who engaged in these heinous practices to the fullest extent of the law."
"Dryden, who resided in Cincinnati, paid a minor on the other side of the world to film the torture and abuse of monkeys and then sold those videos to others," U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II for the Southern District of Ohio said. "This sadistic and obscene conduct is unacceptable in any civilized society and Dryden will rightfully spend time in prison for his actions."
Assistant Director Doug Ault of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Office of Law Enforcement called the investigation "an extraordinarily disturbing and heinous case of animal cruelty."
"Orchestrating the deliberate torture and murder of baby primates is unconscionable," Ault said. "Our agents worked tirelessly to support the pursuit of justice. Today's sentencing reflects our unwavering commitment to protecting the most vulnerable and sends a clear warning to anyone who would commit such acts: we will find you, and you will be held accountable."
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the FBI investigated the case. Senior Trial Attorney Adam C. Cullman of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division prosecuted the case, with assistance from former Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Oakley for the Southern District of Ohio.
