Canadian couple sentenced to 12 years for selling animal torture videos
Editor’s note: This article mentions the torture and killing of animals, which some readers may find upsetting.
A Canadian couple has been sentenced to prison after admitting to selling videos of themselves torturing and killing animals online.
On Wednesday, Feb. 11, Manitoba’s Court of King’s Bench Justice Jeffrey Harris handed Irene Lima and Chad Kabecz from Winnipeg a 12-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to six counts of animal cruelty charges in November 2025.
The judge said this case went far beyond anything he’s seen in his career, reported the CBC.
“What’s remarkable is that you both led unremarkable lives before this. You went to school, had jobs, [had] good, loving families. I’m sure that your families are stunned to learn these facts,” said Justice Harris as he sentenced the Canadian couple.
He also banned the pair from ever owning, possessing or being near animals.
The Winnipeg Humane Society stated that this is the highest sentence ever handed down for animal cruelty in Canada.
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Lima and Kabecz were arrested in October 2024 after the Winnipeg Police Service received a report from the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian Animal Welfare about videos and photographs of animals being killed and tortured that were being posted on the dark web.
Over 60 cats and kittens, seven birds, six rabbits, six hamsters, three goldfish, a frog and an axolotl were involved, reported the CBC.
An investigation by Winnipeg police found that between May 20, 2024, and Oct. 7, 2024, these animals were filmed or photographed being tortured and killed.
“In some of these instances, there was also a sexual component to the offence,” reads a news release from the police service in November 2024.
The videos of the murders were sold in a group called Goddess May Barefoot Premium Crush.
According to reports from the CBC, prosecutors told the court that the Telegram group where the videos were sold listed animals that could be killed by price. This ranged from a baby mouse for $5 to kittens for over $100. PayPal records showed the videos made Lima and Kabecz a profit of about $2,800 between May and October 2024.
The Canadian couple read letters to the court during the sentencing hearing last Wednesday, sharing their remorse for their actions.
The CBC reported that Lima is expected to be transferred to serve her sentence in Edmonton because there is no federal women’s institution in Manitoba.