51黑料

ST. LOUIS 鈥� The former caretaker of a movie star chimpanzee admitted Monday to lying to a federal judge by pretending the chimp was dead 鈥� and then publicly acknowledging that she lied, even in an HBO documentary.

Tonia Haddix, who ran a Jefferson County primate facility, tearfully pleaded guilty in a 51黑料 courtroom to two counts of perjury and one of obstructing justice.

Haddix, 55, was wearing a black dress with a floral print in her signature pink, plus pink nails and pink lipstick, as she admitted in court that she hid movie star chimp Tonka instead of turning him over to an animal welfare organization as ordered by a federal court.

She had previously outed the lie in the HBO documentary series 鈥淐himp Crazy.鈥�

鈥淚 opted to go against the court order,鈥� Haddix said in the third episode of the series. 鈥淭onka was literally on the run with me.鈥�

Haddix鈥檚 legal saga dates back to 2017 when People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the US animal rights nonprofit, sued her. PETA claimed she kept several chimpanzees, including movie star Tonka 鈥� who appeared in the 1997 movies 鈥淏uddy鈥� and 鈥淕eorge of the Jungle鈥� 鈥� in inadequate conditions.

In 2020, Haddix signed a consent decree agreeing to send four of the chimps from her now-defunct Missouri Primate Foundation to a sanctuary in Florida. The order allowed her to keep three chimps, including Tonka.

But she failed to comply with the conditions of that agreement, PETA said. Sheriff鈥檚 deputies and U.S. marshals arrived at the facility and removed the remaining chimps in 2021.

Tonka, however, wasn鈥檛 there.

Haddix鈥檚 husband claimed Tonka had died of congestive heart failure. He signed an affidavit claiming he鈥檇 cremated the body.

But in May 2022, PETA learned that Tonka was still alive. They removed him from a cage in the basement of her home in Sunrise Beach, Missouri, near Lake of the Ozarks, and took him to a primate sanctuary in Florida.

鈥淚 lied to them,鈥� Haddix told the Post-Dispatch in June 2022. 鈥淚 did it to protect (Tonka) from the evil clutches of PETA. He is like a son to me. I love him as much as I do my own children, maybe more.鈥�

Last year, PETA lawyers filed to hold her in contempt for her admissions in the 鈥淐himp Crazy鈥� documentary. They said she was profiting off her defiance of court orders by, for instance, recording the 鈥淐himp Crazy Lady Show鈥� podcast and selling messages on the social platform Cameo, which allows fans to pay celebrities to record personalized video messages.

The federal judge referred the accusations to prosecutors, and they promised to investigate.

Haddix would have likely been indicted by a federal grand jury.

Instead, she reached an agreement with prosecutors before she was charged and, on Monday, pleaded guilty.

Her lawyer, Justin Gelfand, said they were glad to reach a resolution.

鈥淪he looks forward to putting this matter behind her,鈥� he told reporters.

Haddix faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, though federal sentencing guidelines will likely recommend between six months to about a year and a half, attorneys said in court.

But Haddix could get more than that if she鈥檚 not careful, warned U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark in court Monday.

Judges have discretion in sentencing and often give defendants less time if they have taken responsibility for their crimes.

Haddix, however, has repeatedly spoken about her case on YouTube and in a half-dozen episodes of her podcast, Clark said. And he said he鈥檚 been listening. Sometimes, he said, her comments could be construed as a lack of remorse.

鈥淵ou have just plead guilty,鈥� he said.

If she continues to make similar statements, he said, 鈥淚 can and will take that into account.鈥�

Haddix was released on bond. Her sentencing is set for July 16.