A Pennsylvania woman who filmed herself fatally torturing animals for online views has been convicted and faces up to seven years behind bars.
The Delaware County Court found 28-year-old Anigar Monsee guilty on Wednesday (May 7) for systematically abusing animals—including pigeons, chickens, frogs, and rabbits—on camera and uploading the recordings to her YouTube channel, which amassed more than 20,000 subscribers.
Charged with four felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, her case disturbed law officials not only for the nature of her crimes, but also for the fact that she was given a platform where thousands of people encouraged her actions.
“It takes a cold, heartless person to harm animals in this way,” said Upper Darby Police Superintendent Tim Bernhardt.
Disclaimer: this story discusses explicit examples of cruelty being inflicted on animals. Reader discretion is advised.
Woman who tortured animals for views on YouTube faces up to seven years behind bars and deportation
Image credits: Upper Darby Police Department
“Even more disturbing is that there are people out there entertained by this—and a platform that allowed it,” he continued.
Monsee’s conviction stems from multiple videos that showed her boiling, skinning, and mutilating live animals, while at the same time smiling and engaging with her viewers.
Her audience was complicit in her actions, sending in requests and donations to see specific types of animals being tortured.
Image credits: 6abc Philadelphia
The culprit hails from Liberia, a country in the southern coast of West Africa, and was living in Delaware.
Upon being convicted, she tried spinning her behavior as the result of her native culinary practices being “misunderstood,” and launched a GoFundMe campaign pleading for people to help her “stay with her daughter.”
Image credits: 6abc Philadelphia
“Hi, my name is Anigar Monsee, and I’m a single mother doing my best to raise my daughter on my own,” she wrote.
“Right now, I’m facing the most terrifying moment of my life—I may be sent to jail or even deported over something I never imagined would put our lives in jeopardy: cooking traditional meals with animals like chicken and frogs.”
The woman tried explaining her actions as “misunderstood traditional food preparation”
Image credits: 6abc Philadelphia
The fundraising campaign has received $337 of a $10,000 goal.
“This has turned into a legal nightmare, and I’m terrified of what could happen to my daughter if I’m taken away from her. She’s my whole world, and I’ve always tried to do everything I can to give her love, stability, and a future,” she continued.
Image credits: Law&Crime Network
Her defense—that her actions were the result of “traditional” food preparation—was rejected by both prosecutors and the jury, who unanimously found that her conduct amounted to nothing but intentional and sadistic cruelty.
Kristin Rickman, director of the emergency response team at PETA, was instrumental in bringing Monsee to justice, as her team was responsible for initially reporting the content to both YouTube and law enforcement.
“This kind of activity is just so deplorable and so damaging that anyone engaging in it needs to be sought and held accountable,” Rickman said.
Monsee is scheduled to be sentenced on July 17 and could face a $15,000 fine in addition to the prison term
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“This case only came to light because good people spoke up,” Superintendent Bernhardt said. “We urge anyone who sees abuse like this online to report it. There must be consequences.”
While Monsee’s YouTube channel was reportedly taken down, many were surprised that her content was allowed on the platform for so long, and that she was able to monetize it.
Image credits: 6abc Philadelphia
Despite the website having a stringent content policy condemning the creation of violent or gory content—including specific sections on animal cruelty—unless a video is manually reported by community members, it won’t catch the attention of the platform immediately.
Image credits: GoFundMe
“Due to the sheer number of content being uploaded on a daily basis, YouTube employs a system that assigns different priorities to different reports,” explained data analyst Nicolas Vasquez to Bored Panda.
“An NGO, for example, has a much higher chance of having their reports reviewed by an actual human when compared to a single user, that’s why it’s recommended to reach out to organizations or government agencies in cases such as this,” he explained.
Image credits: unstoppable_monsee1
Regardless of the time it took for Monsee to be brought to justice, many animal rights groups celebrated the decision.
“Justice was served today for the innocent victims of this horrific cruelty,” said Revolution Philadelphia organizer Carol Lutter.
“The guilty verdict on all four counts against Anigar Monsee sends a powerful message: there is no excuse for animal abuse.”