Maximum prison sentence for boys who promoted cat torture

ALL INFORMATION HAS BEEN TAKEN FROM OFFICIAL WEBSITES:

A SOUTH Devon man and two teenagers have appeared in court accused of 'physically and mentally' torturing a cat.

Colin Sherlock and the two boys from Teignmouth — who cannot be named — are all accused of causing unnecessary suffering to the one-year-old female cat.

The 16 and 17 year old boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have been charged with causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and of subjecting it to mental and physical torture between March 1 and April 30 this year.

The case has been brought to court by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

At Newton Abbot Youth Court on 20th October 2010, defence solicitor Mark Drew said his clients accepted they were present at the time of the cat cruelty.

He also told the court video footage of the cat cruelty existed and had been taken on a mobile phone.

There is no sound on the clip which shows Colin stuffing the cat into the microwave, closing the door, and turning it on.

The year-old cat can be seen in obvious distress as it circles around inside the oven before being released eight seconds later. She is clearly distressed and shocked.

She leaps out and runs away, only to be cornered by Sherlock who grabs it and carries it over to a tumble drier where he rams it inside as Roxy struggles to break free.

The drier is then turned on and Sherlock can be seen pointing through the window as the terrified cat is spun round for seven seconds.

He then opens the drier and grabs Roxy again before carrying her to a fridge freezer where the door has already been opened and a space cleared on the top shelf of the freezer section.

He jams the cat in and slams the door as she tries to jump out and can then be seen smirking at the camera as he pretends to open the door, only to bang it shut again.

Roxy was left in the freezer for 20 seconds then pulled out and the phone footage ends in a blur as she is dunked in a bowl of washing up water.

The cruelty only came to light because Sherlock and two youths with him sent it to their friends' phones and one recipient was so shocked she took it to the police, who identified Sherlock by his distinctive tattoo.

The 2 youths did NOTHING to stop Sherlock. The one is seen LAUGHING and the other filmed the whole horrific event - both egged him on. Rather than be responsible and inform the police, the youths sent the video to friends from their mobile phones!

The case was adjourned for trial until January 13, 2011, at Newton Abbot Court. Both boys were found guilty and will be sentenced on 9th February.

A separate petition for Colin Sherlock gained 2411 signatures and he got a prison sentence on 5th November of 126 days and a ban on keeping animals for 10 years.