Houston Couple Faces Felony Cruelty Charges After Videos Emerge

Remember when President Barack Obama signed the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act back in December 2010? The signing of this act made it a felony crime to create, sell or market obscene videos for sick profit and entertainment. This category of videos were referred to as "crush videos" since  they commonly depicted a woman  wearing stiletto heels, torturing and stomping on small animals in order to appeal to their fans’ deviant sexual fetishes.

Unfortunately however, not everyone takes this law seriously and is still making videos of animal torture as a source of income.  Recently a Southwest Houston, Texas couple was accused of making animal torture (crush) videos and is now facing a maximum sentence of two years in prison, according to a news item published on KHOU.com.

Fifty-one-year-old Brent Wayne Justice and his partner, 22-year-old Ashley Nicole Richards, have been charged with animal abuse and animal cruelty in the brutal torture and killing of a Pit bull puppy and other assorted species of small animals.

According to the affidavit filed at the Harris County District Court last Friday, Richard's horrendous acts of cruelty toward the puppy were so incredibly graphic that the judge was forced to have the reading of the allegations stopped at one point during the hearing.

Richards also faces charges stemming from a 2010 animal cruelty case. In that case, Richards allegedly performed unspeakable acts of cruelty to a cat which resulted in its death. According to prosecutors, Richards reportedly videotaped gruesome acts performed on puppies, kittens, mice and rabbits, and then, to make money, uploaded them online. The particulars of these alleged crimes are so graphic and egregious that this writer has omitted them.

Two open cans of cat food were discovered on the property belonging to the suspects by a KHOU 11 investigative news reporter. He also found a window which had been propped up, purportedly to entice these animals inside. 

According to the police, Richards would kill the animals at times while Justice filmed the videos. Richards is now being held in the Harris County Jail, in lieu of a $40,000 bond for the animal cruelty cases. If she is found guilty, she could face a possible term of seven years in prison. Her cohort Justice's bond was set at only $20,000.  

While the Houston Police Department had previously been informed that crush videos exist, this particular case which has come to their attention is the first of this extreme magnitude in the city of Houston.

How do you feel about this type of animal cruelty and what do you think continues to appeal to those people who purchase “crush” videos?  Share your opinions in a comment.