Information Helps Philippine NBI Arrest Couple Charged With Making Pornographic Videos in Which Animals Were Tortured and Killed
For Immediate Release:
August 5, 2011
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Burgos, La Union — As the result of a year-long joint investigation by the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and PETA's Asia-Pacific affiliate (PETA Asia), two people have been arrested and charged with crimes related to the production of a series of "crush" videos. In the videos, scantily clad young girls engage in the torture and killing of animals, including by ramming a stiletto heel into a monkey's eye, cutting off rabbits' ears with scissors, and slowly stomping on puppies until they bled from the nose. PETA Asia was alerted to the grisly videos by a whistleblower. The group then worked with law enforcement to trace the videos' likely origin to a woman suspected of running a prostitution ring that uses girls as young as 12. The woman, Dorma Ridon, and her husband, Vic, fled. But after PETA Asia offered a reward for their capture, the couple was arrested this week. This marks the first time that suspected "crush" filmmakers have been arrested in this part of the world.
"The vicious orchestration of extreme cruelty shown in these videos must be severely punished," says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. "This is a warning to anyone who would commit cruelty to animals anywhere in the world: The public takes it seriously and will see justice served."
Dorma and Vic Ridon have been charged with violations of child abuse, animal welfare, human trafficking, and wildlife protection laws. PETA Asia has hired a top attorney to assist in preparing the case against them, and the couple is expected to face trial within the year. PETA Asia is now pushing for a law to make the sale and distribution of these videos illegal in the Philippines. The group is also helping two of the underage girls who were forced to participate in the videos—and whose families face extreme poverty and medical bills—to escape from this underworld.
"Crush" videos are illegal to create, sale, or distribute in the United States, and violators face fines and up to seven years' imprisonment.
For information about PETA's work to protect animals, please visit PETA.org.
