‘Evil’ and ‘Despicable’: Miami Man Gets 60 Months for Distributing Sexual Torture Videos of Baby Monkeys

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — A federal judge sentenced a South Florida man to five years in prison Thursday for distributing more than 40 videos depicting the sexual torture and mutilation of baby monkeys—describing the material as “evil” and warning that society will not tolerate such cruelty.

Francisco Javier Ravelo, of Coral Gables, pleaded guilty in March to violating the federal Animal Crushing statute. At his sentencing hearing Wednesday, a judge imposed 60 months behind bars followed by three years of supervised release, during which Ravelo is prohibited from any unsupervised contact with animals.

According to court documents, Ravelo owned and administered several invitation-only online chat groups dedicated to the distribution and discussion of videos showing monkeys being sexually abused, mutilated and tortured. The court ruled that Ravelo controlled access to the groups, moderated content, and acted as a leader and organizer—factors that contributed to an “upward variance” in his prison sentence.

“In society we will not tolerate this kind of material being distributed in any way, shape, or form,” the judge said, explaining that the harsh sentence should serve as a deterrent to others in what the court called the “monkey hate community.”

Federal Crackdown on ‘Animal Crush’ Videos

The Animal Crushing statute makes it a felony to produce or distribute obscene videos depicting the intentional maiming, torture or killing of non-human animals. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division emphasized the gravity of the crime.

“Cruelty to animals desensitizes participants to the suffering of human beings,” Gustafson said. “This sentence is a warning to all future would-be creators and consumers of animal crushing that they risk federal prosecution and imprisonment for these crimes.”
“HSI will relentlessly pursue them and ensure they are held accountable,” Wright said. “Our team worked tirelessly to stop Ravelo’s egregious crimes and prevent further harm.”

A Bucket of Clean Water : Nashville Plant Managers Plead Guilty to Dumping Untreated Waste, Tampering with City Monitors

NASHVILLE — For months, the former managers of a Nashville waste pre-treatment facility secretly bypassed treatment systems and discharged untreated industrial waste directly into the city’s sewer system, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. When the city installed a monitor to catch them, they simply fed it clean water from a bucket.

David Ray Stark, 60, the former plant manager at Allwaste Onsite LLC (doing business as Onsite Environmental), pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee to conspiracy and tampering charges. Caleb Warren Randall, a former plant supervisor, pleaded guilty to the same counts on April 22.

According to court filings, the scheme ran from late 2022 into early 2023. Stark and Randall admitted they repeatedly bypassed the facility’s waste pretreatment processes, allowing untreated waste—including industrial chemicals and landfill leachate—to flow directly into Nashville’s sewer system.

When the city’s Department of Water and Sewerage Services installed a sampling device to monitor discharges, the two men directed plant employees to tamper with it. They removed the device’s sampling hose from the discharge flume and placed it into a bucket filled with clean water—water that did not represent the actual waste being dumped.

“The defendant did more than simply violate the company’s CWA permit,” said Jeffrey A. Hall, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Whenever his company took more industrial waste and landfill leachate than it could treat, the defendant had the waste dumped straight into Nashville’s sewer system and had employees tamper with the city’s monitoring equipment to avoid detection.”

Damage to City Infrastructure

The illegal discharges clogged and damaged Nashville’s water infrastructure, posing a health risk to the community, prosecutors said. The city incurred more than $80,000 in additional sewer maintenance and repair costs directly traced to Onsite Environmental’s bypassing.

In a separate action, Nashville recouped those costs plus $299,576 in unpaid surcharges from the company. Lastyear, Onsit eEnvironmental itself was sentenced to pay a $512,000 fine after pleading guilty for the same conduct.

“The defendants repeatedly and intentionally violated the Clean Water Act by discharging untreated wastes into the Nashville sewer system,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This prosecution sends the message that those who purposely undermine federal environmental laws and endanger public infrastructure will face felony prosecution.”

Maximum Prison Time

Stark and Randall each face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Stark is scheduled for sentencing on Aug. 19; Randall on Aug. 4.

“Illegal discharges that endanger local sewer infrastructure will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Braden H. Boucek for the Middle District of Tennessee.

The Clean Water Act’s pretreatment program is designed to protect municipal sewer systems—built to handle domestic sewage—from industrial wastes that can corrode pipes and disrupt treatment plants. The program requires facilities like Onsite Environmental to reduce harmful pollutants before discharging into public sewers.