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.
Police have previously said 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.
They also said they 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.
Crown attorney Sean Sass alleged Kabecz and Lima — who court heard goes by the name "Goddess May" online — owned and operated a website on the dark web called Goddess May Barefoot Premium Crush, which hosted videos of Lima crushing animals, including cats and kittens, with her feet.
"These are not quick kills," Sass told provincial court Judge David Ireland at the October hearing.
"As the time-stamps seem to indicate, some of these videos are five minutes long. They're staged, premeditated torturing that result in the death of very vulnerable animals."
Some posts on the site allegedly written by Kabecz also describe a long history of Lima torturing animals.
"May is 55 and has been crushing since she was a little girl, and does it for her own satisfaction and pleasure," the site said.
"She crushes barefoot because that's what she enjoys, as it brings her extreme satisfaction even to the point of orgasm without being touched. She's one in a million."