(WWJ) - An international manhunt led agents to the doorstep of a 25-year-old Michigan man after authorities say he filmed and shared graphic videos of himself sexually abusing and torturing animals online.
Federal agents announced Lucas VanWoert, 25, was indicted on charges of producing animal crush videos and other obscene content in connection to a case that was originally investigated by Australian authorities.
As outlined in the indictment, Australian officials began investigating a 51-year-old man in that country on April 22 for bestiality, animal cruelty, and child exploitation. He was arrested and his electronic devices searched, revealing online accounts on platforms where the man had gained a reputation for being a "high-level" creator of animal cruelty videos.
According to agents, acts of extreme animal cruelty, "such as the intentional crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating, or impaling of animals for no socially redeeming purpose" that are filmed and disturbed are commonly referred to as 'animal crush videos.'
Authorities explained that the crush videos are made to "appeal to a specific sexual fetish."
While conducting their search, Australian authorities also found a horde of graphic content that met the criteria for animal crush videos filmed in 2020 by an unknown man only identified as 'Graves.'
Between the Australian man and 'Graves', officials said over 700 files had been shared, with most being created by 'Graves' in what appeared to be in a the sleeper section of a semi truck.
Authorities were alerted in America and later identified 'Graves' as VanWoert
According to the indictment, the videos showed VanWoert, a white male with a beard and a distinctive tattoo, laying down next to a dog.
The dog had been bound, with its mouth tied shut. It was then sexually assaulted by VanWoert with a knife, tortured in obscene and graphic ways, and had its organs removed.
Agents said the dog could be heard breathing in at least two of the videos, suggesting the animal was alive during its horrific abuse.
The dog appeared to have died by the time VanWoert took a knife to its mouth, the complaint said.
"During the video, VanWoert uses a hunting knife to cut out and remove the dog’s tongue," wrote Timothy Kruithoff, a special agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, in a criminal complaint. "VanWoert then holds up the tongue and shakes it in front of the camera."
Authorities claim the disturbing videos were filmed in November of 2020 in West Michigan and distributed while VanWoert lived and worked as a trucker in Grand Rapids.
VanWoert moved to Ohio three months ago, agents said. On Sept. 27, authorities executed a search warrant on his home in Celina, located 115 miles south of Toledo.
According to the complaint, another video depicting animal crushing was discovered during the search.
Investigators also found three dogs in a malnourished state while the remains of a fourth dog were discovered buried in the backyard.
Federal agents said Vanwoert admitted to the horrific acts, including the sexual assault, beating and strangling of a dog while on the property of his previous employer, Sunset Logistics, in Grand Rapids.
He also said he disposed of the dog's body in a dumpster, agents wrote.
Authorities charged VanWoert the following day, Sept. 28 with creating animal crushing videos and distributing the obscene files.
He is currently behind bars in Lucas County Corrections Center in Toledo without bond. Vanwoert faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted.