stock court

A Prineville man was sentenced in federal court Wednesday for his role in a conspiracy to commission “animal crushing” videos, which depicted the torture, mutilation and killing of monkeys, federal officials said.

David Christopher Noble, 48, was sentenced to four years in federal prison and three years’ supervised release for his involvement in the conspiracy, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

“The victims in this case cannot speak for themselves, but the impact of the grotesque violence brought upon them is unmistakable,” said Nathan J. Lichvarcik, chief of the Eugene and Medford branch offices.

He added: “At the direction of David Noble and his co-conspirators, the producers of these animal abuse videos not only killed monkeys but did so in a way that extended their pain and suffering as long as possible.”

Noble administered an online chat group where he and others pooled money to fund animal crushing videos, which were produced mainly in Indonesia, between January 2022 and February 2023, according to a federal sentencing memo filed April 17.

Noble contributed at least 12 donations ranging from $5 to $100, the memo said. Some of that money went toward purchasing new equipment for videographers overseas, the memo said. The group members, who used an encrypted messaging platform called Telegram, would also share other animal abuse content and discuss ideas for new videos, the office said in a Jan. 10 news release.

Court records indicated Noble enjoyed the prolonged suffering of animals. In particular, he favored the torture and killing of adult and juvenile long-tailed macaques, which he and members of the group called “rats,” the office said Wednesday. Long-tailed Macaques are native to Southeast Asia.

In one message sent to the group, Noble said, “the noises they make from pain and abuse are some of my favorite sounds,” according to court records.

Noble was dismissed from his post as a U.S. Air Force officer in 2006 after he was court-martialed for fraud and an unprofessional relationship, the office said. He was ordered to serve six months in military custody. Despite his dishonorable discharge, Noble illegally had multiple guns, including a Colt M4 carbine assault rifle, according to the initial indictment.

Investigators from the Department of Homeland Security searched Noble’s house in February 2023 and discovered “approximately 50 videos depicting animal abuse, along with several firearms and ammunition,” the office said.

When first interviewed by investigators, Noble initially lied about his involvement, the sentencing memo said.

Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer, called Noble’s actions “depraved” and “reprehensible,” and the agent said in the news release Noble “tainted the very essence of humanity’s moral fiber.”

After his home was searched, Noble moved to Henderson, Nevada. He was arrested there on June 13, 2023, following a federal grand jury indictment the month prior, the office said.

He pleaded guilty in January to conspiring to engage in animal crushing and creating and distributing animal crush videos.

Animal crushing is defined as conduct in which one or more living nonhuman mammals, birds, reptiles or amphibians are crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled or otherwise subject to serious harm on purpose.