A Prineville man who pleaded guilty in January to conspiring to produce and distribute videos showing the torture, mutilation and murder of monkeys has been sentenced by a U.S. District Court Judge in Eugene to 48 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release.
“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 U.S. Attorney’s Office Eugene and Medford branches.
According to court documents, David Noble, 48, of Prineville conspired with people in Oregon and elsewhere to send multiple online payments to co-conspirators overseas to fund the production of “animal crush” videos that depict the torture and murder of monkeys.
Noble also administered an online group where members could raise funds to produce, discuss ideas for and share animal abuse videos.
Court documents further describe that in Noble’s messages to the group, he expressed enjoyment of videos depicting the torture and murder of long-tailed macaques, which members of the group referred to as rats.
He expressed that the only thing he didn’t like about the abuse videos was when torturers “kill the rats too quickly” and wanted them to “keep it alive make it suffer make sure it knows to fear you and that you end its existence at any time.”
Noble, a former U.S. Air Force officer, was dismissed from the service in 2006 and was ordered to serve six months in military custody following a court martial for fraud and engaging in an unprofessional relationship, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In Feb. 2023, following an investigation into the case, officials executed a search warrant on Noble’s home, where they found approximately 50 videos depicting animal abuse, along with several firearms and ammunition, according to court records.
A federal grand jury in Eugene returned an indictment on May 18, 2023, charging Noble with conspiring to engage in animal crushing by creating and distributing animal crush videos and illegally possessing a firearm as a dishonorably discharged person.
After his home was searched, Noble moved from Prineville to Henderson, Nevada, where he was arrested on June 13, 2023. Following his arrest, Noble made his first appearance in federal court in Las Vegas, where he was ordered detained pending his transfer to Oregon.
Noble arrived in Oregon on July 21, 2023, and was ordered detained based on the violent nature of his offenses and his possession of firearms.
“Today’s sentence should make it clear to others engaged in this heinous conduct that they will be held responsible for their crimes,” Lichvarcik said.
Haleigh Kochanski is a breaking news and public safety reporter for The Register-Guard. You may reach her at HKochanski@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon man who conspired on animal torture videos sentenced