Monkey torture ringleader jailed as judge questions five-year maximum sentence
Bartosz Poklek was the ringleader of an international network of zoo sadists (Picture: CPS/PA Wire)
The ringleader of an international network dedicated to torturing and killing monkeys for entertainment has been jailed for three years and three months.
Bartosz Poklek, 30, from Bexley, south-east London, played a leading role in an online community known as the ‘monkey hate’ network, distributing thousands of animal abuse videos and allegedly directing how the animals should be tortured and killed.
Woolwich Crown Court heard he sold videos for up to $500 each, wrote scripts detailing how monkeys should be mutilated and dismembered, and repeatedly requested that animals be killed with a hammer.
Some of the monkeys were dressed in bonnets and nappies and fed from baby bottles before being attacked, raising concerns that the animals were being used as ‘proxy infants’ by people interested in the abuse of children.
Sentencing Poklek on Friday, Judge Christopher Grout described the case as one of the most horrific examples of animal cruelty he had encountered.
‘There is a vile underground community who have a hatred of monkeys, particularly baby monkeys, and take pleasure in seeing such monkeys being tortured and killed,’ he told the court.
Poklek has been jailed for three years and three months (Picture: Central News/Web collect)
The judge also questioned whether the maximum five-year prison sentence for animal cruelty was sufficient.
‘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 the abuse took place in south-east Asia, with macaque monkeys subjected to prolonged torture on camera for paying viewers around the world.
People were reportedly drawn into the network after showing an interest in animal abuse content on platforms including YouTube, Facebook and TikTok, before being invited into private groups on Discord and Telegram.
Some paid to ‘adopt’ a monkey, allowing them to make requests about how it would be tortured.
Prosecutor Alex Kettle-Williams said Poklek, who used the online name ‘BP’, ran a group called ‘BP empire’ and was a ‘controlling figure’ in the community.
Police found evidence that he had requested the killing of a stump-tailed monkey, written scripts for abuse videos and repeatedly called for animals to be killed with a hammer.
The investigation uncovered thousands of videos, including footage of baby monkeys being subjected to prolonged and violent abuse.
Poklek came to police attention after attempting to obtain court documents relating to a monkey torture case in the United States.
An international investigation involving the Metropolitan Police, the National Wildlife Crime Unit, West Mercia Police and US authorities followed.
Poklek admitted running a large-scale monkey torture ring between June 2023 and September 2025.
He also pleaded guilty to publishing obscene videos for gain, possessing indecent images of children and possessing ketamine.
The court heard that concerns about the links between monkey torture and child abuse material had emerged in cases involving other members of the international network.
Defending Poklek, Alexia Nicol said he struggled to explain how he had become involved in the offending.
She said he had been seeking recognition as an organiser rather than financial gain, describing him as isolated and spending long periods online while using drugs.
Adeolu Odusote, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said Poklek had been ‘a key cog in a vile trade that oversaw and encouraged the sickening torture of monkeys’.
He added that the prosecution had been made possible through extensive cooperation between British and international authorities.
