Minnesota man who sold animal torture videos online convicted in federal court

A Carver, Minnesota, man was convicted of 16 counts of animal crushing, according to United States Attorney Daniel Rosen.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says the man filmed himself causing serious bodily injury to animals and posted to the videos to a video-hosting website. In some of his videos, smaller animals would suffer prolonged torture and death.

Several free versions of the videos were posted to his channels; however, he also sold more violent videos — with titles including "Snapping Turtle Gives Rat a Slow Death" and "Dog mauls guinea pig on membership page" — that ranged from $0.99 to $99.99. He received at least $1,500 in payments from those videos.

The video-hosting website removed all of the channels citing violations of its policy on violence.

"The defendant tried to make a profit and took pleasure in torturing defenseless animals. His actions were inhumane and illegal, and with this guilty verdict, my office is delivering justice," said Rosen.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says it originally charged the man in September 2025. Sentencing is set for March 2027. He is facing up to 7 years per count and a maximum fine of $250,000.