Couple in animal abuse videos sentenced to life in prison

A couple from La Union jailed in 2012 for producing fetish videos that showed live animals being abused and crushed to death has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a regional trial court, an animal rights group said Monday.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' Asia-Pacific chapter said Vicente and Dorma Ridon were convicted of charges on cruelty to animals, child abuse, and human trafficking for supposedly forcing girls to torture and kill animals.

Also, the couple was said to have been ordered to pay a fine of more than P9 million.

"This case is a victory not just for PETA Asia but also for Philippine law enforcement and people around the world who despise cruelty to animals. The Ridons' sentences are a warning to anyone involved in the vile crush video industry: There are grave consequences to harming animals," said PETA Asia Vice President Jason Baker.

PETA said the Ridon couple had been in jail since June 2012 over the production of the so-called "crush" videos.

It said the videos showed scantily clad girls, one of whom was 12 years old at the time, stepping on and crushing live animals.

PETA worked with Philippine authorities to locate and arrest the Ridons.

It said the videos depicted extreme cruelty to animals, including:

- a dog getting skinned alive
- rabbits flailing and screaming as their ears were cut off and as they were set on fire
- a dog getting burned with a flat iron
- a monkey and several dogs getting hit in the eyes with the sharp end of a stiletto heel
- puppies getting crushed until they vomited their own internal organs.

Meanwhile, PETA said sexual fetishists from areas like the U.S., France, Australia, Korea, Malaysia, the U.K., and elsewhere, who bought the videos on the Internet now "face the risk of being charged." —Joel Locsin/NB, GMA News