His parents called him a 'gentle giant' but they had no idea what he was doing on Facebook

A man shared "extremely perverse" videos of baby monkeys being horrifically tortured with comments such as "a fav of mine this one". Peter Stanley, 42, was part of a sickening private Facebook group called 'Monkey Sauce' where members were encouraged to view and post their own disturbing videos.'

Stanley, who previously worked for a solicitors' firm, shared three of his own videos in the group after other members encouraged him to do so he wouldn't report what they were doing. Little did Stanley or the others know but a volunteer for an animal rights organisation had gained access to the group and shared their findings with the police.

Christopher Taylor, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court this morning, Wednesday, September 25 that Stanley posted three videos of baby macaque monkeys being abused between April 3 and June 24 last year. The defendant told the moderators of the vile group, which has since been shut down by Facebook, that he wanted to engage in the material because he "hated monkeys".

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The videos, which varied between seven and 15 minutes in length, showed the baby monkeys being horrifically tortured by people believed to be in either Thailand or Indonesia. The extreme videos included monkeys being mutilated and tortured with instruments including pliers, a hatchet and a machete.

The ECHO has chosen to not repeat too much of the detail of the videos heard in court due to the nature of the distressing content. The court heard the defendant also commented on the videos he shared. On one he said "now do as you are told", while on another he said "a fav of mine this one". On his third video he commented "this rat has nailed it".

However, the court heard that Sarah Kite - founder of group Action for Primates and a former mental health nurse - passed information to the police regarding Stanley's behaviour after a volunteer inside the group saw what he was posting. The arrest of Stanley followed the broadcast of a BBC documentary, called The Monkey Haters, which uncovered the existence of streaming videos containing the torture of baby monkeys.

Videos, primarily filmed in South-East Asia, and posted online showed the "disciplining" and tormenting of captive infant monkeys and the deliberate infliction of pain and fear, causing physical harm as well as emotional distress.

Mr Taylor, prosecuting, told the court: "While the internet can be a force for food it can also be used for the worst of humanity. This is such a case." Stanley was arrested after a warrant was carried out at his home address on March 26.

His mobile phone, which was seized by police, showed online searches including "how to tell if a baby monkey is distressed" and beastiality pornography involving horses. During his police interview he told officers he had begun by watching videos of monkeys in the wild and questioned how bad they could be hurt.

He viewed about 70 videos in the private Facebook group between June 23 and October 23. He said he stopped after watching an extremely bad video. Mr Taylor told the court there are no formal guidelines when it comes to this case.

Merseyside Police said it was the first of its kind in the north west. Mr Taylor said the custodial threshold had been passed because of the extreme pain and suffering depicted in the material. He added: "Without defendants like this the trade would not continue."

The defendant, of Dovecot Avenue, Dovecot, appeared before Liverpool Magistrates' Court last month where he was pleaded guilty to three counts of publishing an obscene article showing animal torture.

In mitigation, Charles Lander, defending, told the court today that two references had been provided which described the defendant as "caring and friendly", who was "full of integrity" but now also full of remorse and regret. He said his client left school at 16 and has worked for 26 years, most recently at a well-established solicitors' firm.

However, when he disclosed that he had been arrested, his employment was terminated and his partner of eight years ended their relationship. He has since been living with his parents who "couldn't believe they are sitting in crown court," Mr Lander said.

The defence barrister added: "I do not seek to minimise his behaviour. The descriptions speak for themselves. He told police he didn't know why he got into this...This isn't someone who carried on offending until his arrest, he stopped months before."

Mr Lander added: "He did what he accepts is a stupid thing for a few weeks when he was part of the group. He stopped when he realised the error of his ways. He never thought he would get the fateful knock on the door."

Mr Lander conceded that the custodial threshold had been met, but asked for any sentence to be suspended. He said his client had a realistic prospect of rehabilitation, strong personal mitigation and didn't pose a risk or danger to the public. He said the defendant's parents, who described their son as a gentle giant, "do not believe that he would be able to cope with a custodial sentence."

Sentencing, His Honour Judge Ian Harris told the defendant: "These offences are utterly repellent and have no place in a civilised society. You were a volunteer, not a conscript." The judge told the defendant that an immediate custodial sentence was "unavoidable" and sentenced him to 20 months' imprisonment.

Judge Harris also issued destruction of his mobile phone and the statutory surcharge. The defendant, wearing a black suit and sporting short black hair and glasses, attempted to hug his mum as he was led from the dock.

Sergeant Dan Goss from Merseyside Police’s Rural, Wildlife and Heritage team said: "The original investigation uncovered the widespread sharing of content which showed the deliberate and gratuitous suffering of baby monkeys for ‘entertainment’, some of which was for monetary gain.

“As part of a similar investigation carried out by West Mercia Police and the National Wildlife Crime Unit we were able to identify Stanley as being responsible for the publishing of similar content. The Rural, Wildlife and Heritage Team have then carried out an investigation which led to the arrest and charge of Peter Stanley, who today was sentenced to 20 months in prison.

“We worked closely with our colleagues at the National Wildlife Crime Unit as part of this investigation and will continue to identify and apprehend anyone who chooses to share such online content."

Speaking after the sentencing, Ms Kite said: "We are very grateful to Merseyside Police for taking this action against the posting of monkey torture videos on Facebook. Those individuals involved in distributing graphic and obscene content depicting the violent and sadistic torture and killing of baby monkeys need to know that their behaviour is not only vile, but is also a crime.

"We sincerely hope this prosecution and punishment will act as an important deterrent to others. We also hope that this prosecution will be a wake up call to Meta and other social media companies that continue to allow this highly disturbing and graphic content to be posted on their platforms."