Jacksonville Woman’s 51-Month Animal Crush Video Sentence Affirmed In “Mister Ape” Case
Nicole Danielle Devilbiss, 35, was sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to create and distribute animal crush videos involving the torture of monkeys, and a federal appeals court later affirmed her sentence.
SEO Information
| SEO Enhanced Title | Nicole Devilbiss Animal Crush Video Case: Jacksonville Woman’s 51-Month “Mister Ape” Sentence Affirmed |
|---|---|
| SEO Excerpt | Nicole Danielle Devilbiss, 35, of Jacksonville, Florida, was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for conspiracy to create and distribute animal crush videos involving monkeys. The Eleventh Circuit later affirmed her sentence. |
| Focus Keywords | Nicole Devilbiss, Nicole Danielle Devilbiss, animal crush videos, Mister Ape, Jacksonville animal crushing case, HSI Jacksonville, monkey torture videos, federal animal cruelty conviction, Eleventh Circuit sentence affirmed |
Summary
A federal animal cruelty case out of Jacksonville, Florida ended with a 51-month prison sentence for Nicole Danielle Devilbiss, a 35-year-old woman who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to create and distribute animal crush videos. The case centered on an online group that funded, viewed, promoted and distributed videos depicting the abuse, torture and killing of monkeys. Public reporting and petition coverage connected the group to the name “Mister Ape,” while the official federal filings described the operation as a messaging or social media group dedicated to the abuse and death of monkeys.
The federal investigation began in September 2023, when Homeland Security Investigations received information about a Jacksonville resident identified as an administrator of a private online group. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, the group exchanged hundreds, and later described as hundreds if not thousands, of messages about monkey abuse and videos showing animal torture. Federal prosecutors said the purpose of the group was to fund, view, distribute and promote animal crush videos involving baby and adult monkeys.
The term “animal crushing” has a specific meaning under federal law. 18 U.S.C. § 48 defines animal crushing as conduct in which a living non-human mammal, bird, reptile or amphibian is purposely crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled or otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury. The same federal statute also prohibits the creation and distribution of animal crush videos when the videos move through interstate or foreign commerce channels.
According to the plea announcement, members of the conspiracy arranged for animal crush videos to be created by videographers in other countries, including Indonesia, and then sent into the United States. Prosecutors said the group changed its name multiple times to ordinary-sounding names that did not match the group’s real purpose, apparently to avoid detection by law enforcement. The government said Devilbiss was identified as a member of the group through messages, payment records and internet data.
The payment trail became a central piece of the case. Prosecutors said that between April 14, 2022 and May 23, 2023, Devilbiss sent at least three payments through an online payment application to co-conspirators for the purpose of funding animal crush videos. The government said the IP addresses tied to those transactions traced back to her home internet account in Jacksonville.
Federal agents later executed a search warrant at Devilbiss’s residence and seized electronic devices. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, investigators found numerous videos depicting the torture of monkeys on her devices. At sentencing, prosecutors also said law enforcement located a journal detailing Devilbiss’s interest in obtaining a monkey locally to abuse for additional content. That detail sharpened the government’s portrayal of the case from online consumption and sharing to active interest in further production.
Devilbiss was arrested on October 31, 2023. The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the criminal complaint on November 1, 2023, stating that she was charged with conspiracy to create and distribute animal crush videos and faced up to five years in federal prison if convicted. The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.
Devilbiss pleaded guilty on February 13, 2024, to conspiracy to create and distribute animal crush videos. The federal conspiracy charge was brought under 18 U.S.C. § 371, together with the animal crushing video provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 48. Section 371 generally allows a sentence of up to five years in prison when two or more people conspire to commit an offense against the United States and at least one person takes an act to advance the conspiracy.
On June 18, 2024, U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger sentenced Devilbiss to four years and three months in federal prison. That equals 51 months. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said she had been in custody since her October 31, 2023 arrest. The sentence was close to the five-year statutory ceiling under the conspiracy count, which showed how seriously the court treated the conduct.
The case did not end at sentencing. Devilbiss appealed her 51-month sentence to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. She challenged the district court’s application of a leadership enhancement, the denial of a zero-point offender reduction and the substantive reasonableness of the sentence. On June 29, 2026, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the sentence. The appellate court found no reversible error and concluded that the 51-month sentence was within the permissible range.
The appellate opinion also explained why the sentencing enhancement mattered. The court noted that Devilbiss had held herself out as a lead administrator of the group and exercised decision-making authority. The court found that the district court did not clearly err by treating her as an organizer or leader of criminal activity. Because of that ruling, the appellate court also rejected her related argument that she should have received a zero-point offender reduction.
The victims in this case were the monkeys and other animals depicted in the crush videos, especially the baby and adult monkeys described by prosecutors. No human victim name applies in the ordinary sense, but federal authorities treated the case as serious animal cruelty and exploitation. The harm was not limited to the files on Devilbiss’s devices. Prosecutors said the online group created demand, coordinated funding and helped drive the production of abusive videos overseas.
This case stands out because it involved an international digital pipeline for animal torture content. The internet did not simply carry the videos after the fact. According to prosecutors, the online group helped organize payments, demand, distribution and promotion. The screen was not a passive window. It was part of the machinery.
SEO alt text: Booking image of Nicole Devilbiss in the Jacksonville animal crush video conspiracy case.
SEO description: Booking image used with coverage of Nicole Danielle Devilbiss, the Jacksonville woman sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for conspiracy to create and distribute animal crush videos involving monkeys.
Image source note: Crime Report image / public arrest coverage. Verify the original booking-image source before republishing as a mugshot.
Section 1: The Crime
The crime was conspiracy to create and distribute animal crush videos. Federal prosecutors said Devilbiss participated in an online group dedicated to the abuse, torture and killing of monkeys. The group arranged for videos to be produced overseas, including in Indonesia, and then distributed to viewers in the United States.
The government said Devilbiss helped fund the production of videos through online payments, shared videos, commented on animal abuse material and was connected to the group’s administration. Law enforcement later seized devices from her residence and found numerous videos depicting the torture of monkeys.
Important wording note: This article avoids repeating graphic descriptions of the videos. The federal case facts are severe enough without reproducing torture details beyond what is necessary to explain the charge.
Section 2: Crime Location
The federal case was based in Jacksonville, Florida, where Devilbiss lived and where investigators traced online payment activity and internet records. The videos were allegedly created by videographers and animals in other countries, including Indonesia, and then sent into the United States. Because the conspiracy involved foreign production, online payments and U.S. distribution, the case was handled federally rather than as a local animal cruelty case alone.
Section 3: Date And Time Of Crime
The charged conspiracy activity included payments made between April 14, 2022 and May 23, 2023. Homeland Security Investigations received information about the online group in September 2023. Devilbiss was arrested on October 31, 2023, pleaded guilty on February 13, 2024, was sentenced on June 18, 2024, and had her sentence affirmed on appeal on June 29, 2026.
Section 4: Police Department
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. Assistant United States Attorneys Ashley Washington and Elisibeth Adams were listed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the sentencing announcement.
Because this was a federal case, the most accurate agency description is not a single city police department. It was a federal investigation led by HSI with local sheriff’s office support across northeast Florida.
Section 5: Suspect Name
The suspect was identified as Nicole Danielle Devilbiss. Public reporting and the existing Crime Report article refer to her as Nicole Devilbiss. Federal records list her full name as Nicole Danielle Devilbiss.
Section 6: Suspect Age
Devilbiss was reported to be 35 years old at the time of the federal arrest, guilty plea and sentencing announcements.
Section 7: Charges
Devilbiss was charged with and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to create and distribute animal crush videos. The Eleventh Circuit described the conviction as conspiracy to create and distribute animal crush videos in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371 and 48(a)(2) and (3).
18 U.S.C. § 48 prohibits knowingly creating animal crush videos intended for interstate or foreign commerce distribution, as well as knowingly selling, marketing, advertising, exchanging or distributing animal crush videos through interstate or foreign commerce. 18 U.S.C. § 371 is the general federal conspiracy statute and provides a maximum punishment of five years in prison for covered felony conspiracies.
Section 8: Bond Amount
No public monetary bond amount was confirmed in the reviewed federal sources. The U.S. Attorney’s Office reported at sentencing that Devilbiss had been in custody since her arrest on October 31, 2023. That means the safer wording is that she remained in federal custody from arrest through sentencing, rather than listing a bond amount.
Section 9: Conviction
Devilbiss pleaded guilty on February 13, 2024, to conspiracy to create and distribute animal crush videos. Her conviction was later addressed in the Eleventh Circuit appellate opinion, which noted that she pleaded guilty in federal district court.
This case should be described as a confirmed federal conviction, not merely an arrest or allegation.
Section 10: Sentence
Devilbiss was sentenced on June 18, 2024, to four years and three months in federal prison. That equals 51 months. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger in the Middle District of Florida.
On appeal, Devilbiss argued that the sentence was procedurally and substantively unreasonable. The Eleventh Circuit rejected those arguments and affirmed the 51-month sentence on June 29, 2026.
Section 11: Outcome
The final reported outcome is a guilty plea, a 51-month federal prison sentence and an appellate affirmance. Devilbiss’s appeal did not undo the sentence. The Eleventh Circuit concluded that the district court did not err in applying the leadership enhancement and that the prison term was substantively reasonable.
The case therefore ended, at least through the appellate level reviewed here, with the federal sentence standing.
Section 12: Victim
The victims were the animals depicted in the animal crush videos, specifically baby and adult monkeys described by federal prosecutors. The animals were not named individually in the public federal announcements. The harm included abuse, torture and killing committed to create videos for an audience of paying viewers.
The broader victim interest also includes animal welfare and the public interest in preventing markets for torture content. Federal prosecutors treated the case as a demand-driven cruelty operation: the group did not merely watch existing content, it helped finance the creation of more.
Section 13: Victim Name
No individual animal victim names were reported in the reviewed federal sources. The victims should be described as baby and adult monkeys and other animals depicted in animal crush videos.
Section 14: Victim Age
The U.S. Attorney’s Office described monkeys of various ages, including baby and adult monkeys. No exact animal ages were reported in the reviewed sources.
Sources
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida: Jacksonville Woman Sentenced To Over 4 Years In Federal Prison For Conspiracy To Create And Distribute Animal Crush Videos
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida: Jacksonville Woman Pleads Guilty To Conspiracy To Create And Distribute Animal Crush Videos
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida: Jacksonville Woman Arrested For Conspiracy To Create And Distribute Animal Crush Videos
- Justia: USA v. Nicole Devilbiss, No. 24-12252, Eleventh Circuit opinion affirming sentence
- U.S. House Office of the Law Revision Counsel: 18 U.S.C. § 48, Animal crushing
- U.S. House Office of the Law Revision Counsel: 18 U.S.C. § 371, Conspiracy to commit offense or defraud United States
- Crime Report: Brutal Animal Crushing, Mister Ape Cruelty Case
