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A Houston woman pleaded guilty Tuesday of producing “animal crush” fetish videos — the first known indictment in federal court under a 2010 law that made the bizarre videos illegal, according to the Justice Department.

Ashley Nicole Richards, 24, admitted to producing videos of puppies, kittens and chickens being tortured on camera for the sexual gratification of viewers.

The animals were beaten, crushed and decapitated, and in some videos, Richards was “scantily clad” and wearing a Mardi Gras-style mask. “As she tortured the animals, she engaged in sexually charged dialogue meant to arouse the viewer,” the Justice Department said in a news release announcing the conviction.

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According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, “crush” fetish videos typically feature women mutilating or torturing animals, sometimes by crushing them barefoot or in high heels.

The disturbing genre of porn was outlawed in 2010 when President Obama signed the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act into law. An earlier 1999 law making the videos illegal was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Richards was charged in connection to the creation and distribution of seven videos between February 2010 and August 2012, the first of which was sent to Texas authorities by PETA.

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In one 13-minute video, she tortured and killed a pit bull-mix puppy in a kitchen, federal officials said.

“The defenseless dog’s mouth is closed with duct tape and he struggles as Richards strikes the dog numerous times with a meat cleaver,” the Justice Department said in a statement. “In the video, Richards chops off one of the puppy’s paws, then hacks at his head and neck.  Richards is later seen severing the dog’s head and urinating on its body.”

According to court documents, Richards told investigators that making the videos made her “sick” but that she needed the money.

Richards faced four counts of producing and one count of distribution of the videos — which, the Justice Department noted, “were obscene in nature.”

She faces a penalty of up to seven years in prison for each count and a possible fine of up to $250,000. Richards, who will be sentenced Dec. 10, also pleaded guilty to state charges related to the videos and was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2014.

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