SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Dec. 11, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A 20-year-old Farmington man was sentenced Monday to one year and one day in prison for animal cruelty after posting multiple videos showing him crushing and seriously injuring a guinea pig in October 2021.
Samuel J. Webster also was sentenced to a $5,550 fine and three years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Utah said in a news release.
Webster pleaded guilty Aug. 7 to distribution of animal crush video and animal crushing. Prosecutors say he purposefully engaged in animal crushing by purchasing a male guinea pig from a pet supply store in Farmington, subjecting the animal to serious injury and posting videos of the abuse on YouTube.
“The animal torture committed by Mr. Webster was not only illegal but inhumane and cruel,” said U.S. Attorney for Utah Trina A. Higgins. “Torture of any kind to an animal is unacceptable. Our office will work with law enforcement to investigate and prosecute all crimes of this nature.”
Webster posted at least 17 videos on his YouTube channel before they were flagged as inappropriate and eventually removed, according to court documents. He was sentenced by Federal District Court Judge David Sam at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.
“Before the videos were removed from YouTube, multiple viewers saved the videos, captured screenshots, and reposted them on [Reddit],” according to a probable cause statement filed in 2nd District Court.
Reddit users created a forum in an attempt to identify the man in the videos and provided the information they obtained to investigators, who later tracked Webster to a residence in Woods Cross, police said.
Police served a warrant at Webster’s residence and “found the shed where he filmed the torture videos and additional corroborating evidence,” the affidavit states.
Webster later told police the guinea pigs were obtained for the purpose of creating and distributing YouTube videos of him torturing and killing the animals.
“Animals deserve to be treated humanely which is why the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act was passed in 2019,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Shohini Sinha. “Evidence shows that intentional animal cruelty can also be a precursor to other violent crimes. We are grateful for the public’s assistance reporting this horrific abuse so law enforcement could put a stop to it and have Mr. Webster face the consequences.”
The FBI Salt Lake Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the Woods Cross Police Department.
Anyone aware of animal cruelty can report it to law enforcement by calling 800-CALL-FBI or leaving a tip at tips.fbi.gov.
