The star of HBO’s “Chimp Crazy” is asking a federal judge to reduce her prison sentence for crimes related to lies she told about having a chimp named Tonka.
Tonia Haddix officially filed her appeal in August, but attorneys did not submit court documents outlining their legal arguments until late last week.
Haddix pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and perjury in March 2025 and was sentenced to almost four years in prison in August. The 46-month sentence was higher than federal sentencing guidelines and well above the one year and one day her attorneys had requested.
U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark added two penalties to a recommendation from probation officers. The first was due to the fact that in Clark’s eyes, Haddix’s lies prolonged a complicated civil legal case, leading to an “unnecessary expenditure of substantial governmental or court resources.” In addition, Clark felt Haddix’s efforts to hide Tonka from authorities required a lot of planning and preparation.
Haddix’s attorneys say there is no evidence in court records for either of Clark’s claims. And they argue 46 months is much longer than needed to achieve the goals of a prison sentence.
“In sum, this sentence treats an emotionally driven, non-violent, first-offender case as though she were a profit-driven or dangerous one,” they wrote.
