Woman accused of crushing animals to death with feet for dark web videos denied bail

Posted on December 20, 2024 by Peggy

WARNING: This story contains details about child pornography, sexual abuse and the torture and killing of animals.

A Winnipeg woman accused of crushing animals to death with her feet for videos she and her boyfriend then allegedly sold was denied bail Friday, following a lengthy hearing in a Manitoba court earlier this week.

Irene Lima and Chad Kabecz were arrested and charged with several animal cruelty offences in October, after the provincial veterinarian got a tip from a citizen about videos and photos of animal torture.

They had been posted on the dark web — online content that doesn’t show up through regular searches, and can only be accessed with a special browser. The citizen who made the tip said they believed the people behind the videos were from Manitoba.

That tip led police to search a home in Winnipeg’s Lord Roberts area, where officers seized several electronic devices that revealed hundreds of videos and photographs and tens of thousands of encrypted communications between the two accused, police said at the time of the couple’s arrest.

Court heard previously that police seized a cat carrier, multiple cellphones, a computer, Lima’s diary and a blue Tupperware bin that was seen in videos and was claimed to have cats in it. They also took some blood samples that were found in the suite, USB drives and other items.

Lawyers made arguments for and against Lima’s release during an hours-long bail hearing on Monday, after which provincial court Judge Kusham Sharma reserved her decision.

Those arguments — along with any evidence or information presented during the hearing, and the reasons Sharma gave for her decision Friday — can’t be reported because of a publication ban. Those types of bans are common during bail hearings, where judges are required to grant a ban if requested by the accused.

However, the fact a hearing is held, whether bail is granted and any conditions of a defendant’s release can be published without violating that ban.

Created ‘black-market network’ for videos, police allege

Lima sat in the prisoner’s box during her bail hearing Monday, often looking down at the floor and at times rubbing her forehead as details of the allegations against her were read out in court. Three of her family members also sat in the gallery throughout the proceedings.

Police have previously alleged that from May 20 to Oct. 7, 2024, more than 75 animals were filmed or photographed being tortured and killed, and that there was also a sexual component to the offence in some cases.

Police said they also discovered communications between the couple discussing wanting to torture a child, and said there was a sexual component to those messages.

Investigators also found several images of child pornography had been accessed on a device belonging to Kabecz and Lima, police said.

The decision not to release Lima on bail comes weeks after she and Kabecz were charged with a slew of new offences — including several related to bestiality and child pornography — linked to what police said they found on the seized devices.

Police allege Kabecz created “an exclusive underground black-market network” for the animal torture content. Prospective members had to submit their own video to gain entry, and both accused profited financially from it, according to police.

Kabecz was released on bail shortly after his October arrest, with conditions that required him to stay with family, have no contact with Lima or any animals and not use the internet. He was taken into custody again following the new charges against him and Lima last month.

More to come