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

December 20, 2024 Canuck

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 on a defendant’s release can be published without violating that ban.

Lima sat in the prisoner’s box as Sharma read her decision on Friday, not looking up from the floor as the judge denied her release. At least one of her family members was also present in the gallery for the decision.

Her lawyer, Mike Cook, told reporters outside court he was disappointed by the outcome.

A man in a winter jacket speaks with reporters outside a courthouse. — Irene Lima’s defence lawyer, Mike Cook, says he expects his client’s case to go to trial. (Trevor Brine/CBC)

“I thought my client put forward a good bail plan. I thought it addressed the concerns,” Cook said.

He plans to consult with Lima and meet with the prosecution in the case next month to discuss what will come next.

“As we stand here now, I think it’s going to go to trial.”

‘Black-market network’

During arguments in her bail hearing on Monday, Lima often looked down at the floor and at times rubbed 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 hearing.

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.

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.

Details revealed in co-accused’s bail hearing

Further details about the allegations against the couple were revealed during Kabecz’s October bail hearing, which was not covered by a publication ban.

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.”

Court also heard the person who tipped off authorities about the site engaged with someone police allege was Kabecz on the social media site Reddit, and got instructions on where to find the videos and how to pay. The tipster took screenshots of the exchange and gave them to police, said Sass.

Other screenshots taken by the anonymous source showed the graphic nature of the crushing site. The homepage featured “an extremely graphic image that appears to be of a bare foot on top of some animal,” said Sass.

“It’s unrecognizable.”

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.”

Lima was also previously convicted twice of fraud under $5,000 for defrauding two elderly clients while she was their home care worker.

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