AMHERST — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is demanding the immediate closure of the University of Massachusetts–Amherst’s marmoset research lab following the conviction and sentencing of a former lab worker for federal child pornography crimes.
Bradley Driscoll, 27, of West Roxbury, was sentenced to five years in prison on May 15, 2025, after pleading guilty to distribution and possession of child sexual abuse material. He will also serve five years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $25,000 in restitution to victims.
Driscoll previously lived in Amherst and graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in biology. According to his LinkedIn profile, from December 2021 to May 2022, he worked as a volunteer research assistant in the lab of UMass researcher Dr. Agnès Lacreuse, where he handled common marmosets, fitted them with temperature-sensor jackets, conducted daily habituation trials, and helped collect data on core body temperature during sleep onset. He later enrolled as a Ph.D. student in neurobiology at Boston University.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, the investigation began in August 2022 when Driscoll engaged in a Kik messenger chat with an undercover federal agent. During the conversation, he expressed interest in obtaining child pornography and sent the agent a link to a cloud-based account containing approximately 345 files depicting graphic sexual abuse of minors, including infants.
In a subsequent interview in September 2023, Driscoll admitted to owning the Kik account and acknowledged asking the agent to send him child pornography. He also stated that he obtained such material through other Kik chat groups.
In response to the sentencing, PETA’s Chief Scientist for Laboratory Investigations Campaigns, Dr. Katherine Roe, issued a statement:
“PETA is sickened but not surprised to learn that a former worker of the marmoset-torture laboratory at the University of Massachusetts–Amherst has been sentenced to five years in prison for the distribution and possession of child sexual abuse material. This conviction is yet another reminder of the well-established link between animal abuse and human violence, and animal experimenters often have been exposed for escalating their cruelty from animals to humans.”
The lab, according to PETA, conducts menopause-related experiments on female marmosets—a species that does not naturally experience menopause. The group alleges that researchers at UMass zip-tie the monkeys into restraining devices, drill into their skulls to implant electrodes, cut open their necks to expose muscle, and thread wires through their bodies. To simulate hot flashes, experimenters reportedly cut out the animals’ ovaries and heat them with hand warmers.
The lab has been a longstanding target of PETA, which has accused it of violating animal welfare laws and subjecting marmosets to invasive and distressing procedures without producing meaningful contributions to human health. The group has staged protests—including one led by actor Casey Affleck—launched billboard and social media campaigns, and filed complaints with federal regulators urging the university to shut the facility down.
Following Driscoll’s sentencing, PETA reiterated its position, calling on UMass to “act now to end this cycle of cruelty.”
PETA also encouraged the public to learn more at PETA.org and offers “Empathy Kits” to promote kindness toward all beings. The group’s motto includes the phrase: “Animals are not ours to experiment on.”
Driscoll was indicted in October 2023 and pleaded guilty in February 2025 to one count each of distribution and possession of child pornography. His case was prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Driscoll’s connection to the UMass laboratory was not mentioned in the statement issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announcing his sentencing.
