Ashley Nicole Richards 24, of Houston, Texas, has been
convicted of creating and distributing videos depicting the torture and killing
of puppies, chickens and kittens, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson for
the Southern District of Texas. Richards
entered a guilty plea today, admitting she produced and distributed what is
referred to as “animal crush videos.”
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) defines
the “crush” fetish as a cruel and illegal genre of pornography in which women
are videotaped or photographed mutilating small animals for the sexual
gratification of viewers. In crush
fetish materials, women are depicted, usually barefoot or in high heels,
stepping on (or crushing), torturing and killing different species of animals,
ranging from crawfish, crabs and insects to rodents, rabbits, kittens, puppies,
cats, dogs and other mammals.
Under federal law it is illegal to depict - via photograph,
motion-picture film, video, digital recording or electronic image - actual
conduct in which one or more living non-human mammals, birds, reptiles or
amphibians is intentionally crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled or
otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury, and is obscene.
This is the first known case to be indicted in federal court
since the statute was amended in 2010.
Richards has admitted to creating and distributing videos
that involve puppies, chickens and kittens being tortured and killed. The videos are titled “puppy1,” “puppy 2,”
“whitechick1,” “whitechick2,” “whitechick3,” “blackluvsample,” “adammeetseve”
and “adammeetseve2” and were created at varying times between February 2010 and
August 2012. In the “puppy2” video,
which is more than 13 minutes in length, Richards is seen torturing and killing
a blue Pit Bull-mix puppy in a kitchen.
The defenseless dog’s mouth is closed with duct tape and he struggles as
Richards strikes the dog numerous times with a meat cleaver. In the video, Richards chops off one of the
puppy’s paws, then hacks at his head and neck.
Richards is later seen severing the dog’s head and urinating on its
body. In another video, described in
court today, Richards steps on a cat’s eye with heel of her shoe.
Previous court records also indicated that during the
videos, Richards is often scantily clad and wearing a Mardi Gras-type
mask. As she tortured the animals, she
engaged in sexually charged dialogue meant to arouse the viewer.
Authorities were alerted to the videos following an inquiry
from PETA.
Richards was originally arrested on state charges on Aug.
15, 2012. A federal grand jury returned
an indictment Nov. 28, 2012, and she was transferred to federal custody. However, the crush video charges were later
dismissed on what the court cited as constitutionality issues. The government appealed that decision to the
5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans which subsequently overturned the
decision of the District Court. The
defense then filed a petition for a writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme
Court challenging the 5th Circuit’s ruling.
The Supreme Court denied that petition and remanded the case back to the
District Court for prosecution.
Today, Richards pleaded guilty to all five counts as
charged, four counts of producing and one count of distribution of the animal
crush videos which were obscene in nature.
U.S. District Judge Sim Lake accepted the guilty pleas and has set
sentencing for December 10. At that
time, Richards faces up to seven years in federal prison on each count of
conviction as well as possible $250,000 fine.
Richards also pleaded guilty to three charges in state court
stemming from the same conduct and was sentenced to ten years in prison.
The Houston Police Department originally investigated the
matter and worked in conjunction with the Houston Office of the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri L. Zack is
prosecuting the case, while trial attorney John Pellettieri of the Department
of Justice’s Criminal Division handled the appeal.
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