DAVIS CO., Utah — A Davis County man was arrested for allegedly torturing and killing guinea pigs, helped put away by a group of Reddit users, including one on the other side of the world.
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Adrian, a 17-year-old from Norway who goes by the username: u/memegy saw videos the man had posted showing him abusing guinea pigs.
“I just wanted to cry because it was such a big impact. How could someone that lives on this earth, how could someone do that?” said Adrian.
Motivated by his love for animals and his own guinea pigs, Adrian created a group dedicated to tracking down the abuser. The group slowly grew to about 28 people all around the world.
Group members found a Petco bag in one of the abuser’s videos, indicating he was from the U.S.
Together, they were able to find multiple social media accounts of the abuser and eventually an old address in West Bountiful before calling the police.
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That’s when they realized two of their group members were police officers.
“One of the officers commented and said 'thanks, we will take it from here,'” said Adrian.
Assistant Police Chief Adam Osoro says their Woods Cross agency became involved when Bountiful Police learned the abuser was living in the area.
“We’ve collected 17 videos that depict animal abuse and they’re horrific, to say the least,” said Osoro.
Police found the 18-year-old suspect and made a quick arrest.
“We moved so quickly to make sure no more animals were harmed and to provide this person some treatment,” said Osoro.
Stopping abuse a continent away, Adrian said he never thought his Reddit group could make such a difference.
