Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the arrest and filing of a criminal complaint charging Nicole Danielle Devilbiss (35, Jacksonville) with conspiracy to create and distribute animal crush videos. If convicted, Devilbiss faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A detention hearing has been set for Devilbiss on November 1, 2023, at 1:00 p.m.
Animal crushing is defined under federal criminal law as “actual conduct in which one or more living non-human mammals, birds, reptiles, or amphibians, is purposely crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled, or otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury.”
According to court documents, an investigation into a group on a mobile phone application revealed users were arranging the creation and sharing of videos depicting animal crush videos involving primates. The group chat was dedicated to the abuse, torture, and death of monkeys of various ages. The investigation identified Devilbiss as one of the administrators of the group and determined that she removed people from the group, commented on the abuse of the primates in the videos, and shared videos depicting primates being tortured.
A complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington.
