A 30-year-old man from south-east London who acted as the ringleader of a global network commissioning, scriptwriting, and selling videos showing the sadistic torture and killing of baby monkeys has been sentenced to three years and three months’ imprisonment at Woolwich Crown Court.
Bartosz Poklek, of Bexley, Greater London, appeared for sentence following an extensive multinational law enforcement operation conducted jointly by British police and United States authorities into online cruelty networks active between June 2023 and September 2025.
The court was told that Poklek used the pseudonym “BP” to run an online community titled the “BP empire”, establishing himself as a principal figure in global online animal abuse circles. Poklek managed closed groups on platforms including Discord and Telegram, which drew in users who initially engaged with cruelty-related content on mainstream social media platforms.
Within these private channels, members pooled financial resources to pay handlers in Indonesia to capture wild macaque monkeys from natural habitats and subject them to horrific abuse on camera. Recordings were sold to private collectors for sums ranging from £200 to $500, with customers paying to “adopt” individual monkeys in order to directly command how they were tortured and killed.
Prosecuting barrister Alex Kettle-Williams detailed how Poklek drafted instructional scripts for overseas abusers, which included demands for monkeys to have their limbs amputated, severe burns applied, and to be struck repeatedly with hammers until dead. In multiple instances, infant monkeys were dressed in baby clothing during filming, a feature prosecutors noted indicated the animals were being utilised as substitutes for children in sadistic scenarios.
Upon executing an arrest at Poklek’s home address, officers seized digital devices containing over 10,500 illicit media files. The material included almost 3,000 recordings and images depicting baby monkeys undergoing fatal torture. Further digital forensic examination uncovered a number of indecent images depicting child sexual abuse, as well as quantities of the Class B controlled drug ketamine.
Under the provisions of Section 49 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 and the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992, all child complainants and protected parties connected to criminal proceedings are protected by automatic, lifelong statutory anonymity. Publishing, broadcasting, or disseminating any details, names, addresses, or photographs capable of leading to the public identification of protected individuals is strictly prohibited under UK law.
Poklek pleaded guilty to:
- Causing unnecessary suffering to protected animals
- Publishing obscene videos for commercial gain
- Possession of indecent images of children
- Possession of a controlled Class B drug (ketamine)
Sentencing Poklek, Judge Christopher Grout condemned the behaviour as appalling, noting he had never witnessed animal abuse of comparable depravity during his career on the bench. The judge also highlighted the constraints of current legislation, observing that the case demonstrated that statutory maximum sentencing powers for animal cruelty offences remain excessively low.
Judge Grout imposed an immediate custodial sentence of three years and three months’ imprisonment, alongside statutory post-release licence supervision conditions.
Image – Anonymous Artist Impression
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