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A Prineville man was arrested in Nevada after a federal indictment was unsealed charging him with administering an online group that facilitated the abuse, torture and killing of monkeys.

David Christopher Noble, 48, of Prineville, was charged with conspiring to engage in “animal crushing” and creating and distributing animal crush videos, creating animal crush videos, and illegally possessing a firearm as a dishonorably discharged person, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oregon said in a release Thursday.

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

Court documents allege  that in 2022 and continuing until Feb. 2, 2023, Noble conspired with others to view, encourage and fund animal crush videos. Noble was allegedly a group administrator for an online animal crushing group using an encrypted chat application, the release said. 

Noble allegedly paid for the creation of and celebrated videos depicting the torture, sexually-sadistic mutilation and killing  of adult and juvenile monkeys, the release said. Noble allegedly managed the group’s membership, and repeatedly changed the group’s name to avoid getting caught by law enforcement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

in 2006, Noble was dismissed from his post as an officer in the U.S. Air Force, and ordered to serve six months in military custody after he was court-martialed for fraud and an unprofessional relationship, the release said. Despite being dishorably discharged, Noble illegally possessed multiple guns, including a Colt M4 carbine assault rifle. 

In Jan. 2023, Noble moved to Henderson, Nevada, after the federal government searched his home in Prineville, the release said. On Tuesday, Noble was arrested in Nevada, and on Wednesday, he appeared in a federal court in Las Vegas. He is currently in custody and will be transferred to the U.S. District Court of Oregon. 

Creating animal crush content is punishable by up to seven years in federal prison, and illegally possessing a firearm as a dishonorably discharged person is punishable by up to 15 years in federal prison, the release said.