An animal abuser from Sussex, Michael Sweetman, who sexually and physically slowly tortured and killed a kitten for his own amusement, has been prohibited from possessing any animals for a period of 10 years. He was also guilty of severely injuring another kitten whilst he exhibited excitement and arousal.
Michael Sweetman (DOB 11.11.96), residing at Allingham Place, Ovingdean, admitted guilt to two charges related to the abuse of two kittens during a prior hearing.
Brighton Magistrates Court previously heard that the tabby kitty, Prince, had been interred in a shoebox in a yard located behind Michael Sweetman’s residence.
The court was informed that police summoned RSPCA Inspector Charlotte Beaumann to the location after the family that had given the kitten, Prince, to Michael Sweetman a month prior observed Michael Sweetman burying him.
Family members excavated the shoebox containing his remains and notified the police (Editor’s Note: Respect to them for doing so).
In her written testimony to the court, the inspector stated: “Inside was a deceased male tabby kitten wrapped in a towel.” I observed a significant haematoma on the kitten’s left ear, accompanied by some bruising; additionally, there seemed to be bruising on the opposite ear as well.
The police confiscated the remains of Prince and an additional kitten, transferring them to the RSPCA’s custody for Charlotte to transport to a nearby veterinary clinic.
X-rays indicated that Prince sustained several substantial, unexplained injuries in various locations.
An autopsy indicated a damaged pelvis from sexual abuse and a potential rib fracture. His tail had sustained a fracture.
Michael Sweetman asserted that Prince had succumbed to a fall into the toilet, which contributed to his eventual demise.
Nonetheless, the extent of Prince’s injuries was inconsistent with having fallen into a toilet, nor was there any sign of drowning at the postmortem examination.
A postmortem examination of Prince’s body revealed no underlying condition that could have contributed to increased bone fragility and susceptibility to fractures, leading to the conclusion that he had sustained repetitive injuries from substantial blunt force trauma.
An overarching veterinary expert for the RSPCA reviewed the evidence and concluded Prince had been repetitively injured to a degree that had caused multiple bone fractures and tearing of the flesh.
The report read: “Prince died as a consequence of having sustained severe blunt force trauma injuries while in the home environment which included a depressed skull fracture. From the evidence provided such an injury cannot be reasonably explained other than by the mechanism of physical abuse’.
“The nature and characteristics of the injuries sustained by Prince are very highly suggestive of Prince having been forcefully held by the skin at the scruff and the neck and thrown to collide with a blunt object resulting in the fractured bones along the left side of the kitten’s body.
“In such circumstances, Prince would have experienced pain as a consequence of the subcutaneous tissues being torn and would have suffered fear and distress for a period of several seconds prior to sustaining the severe head injury”.
The second kitten was found to have sustained a fractured tail vertebra similar in nature to that was sustained by Prince.
She recovered in RSPCA foster care and has subsequently been rehomed.
At a sentencing hearing on 11 August at Worthing Magistrates’ Court, Michael Sweetman was sentenced to JUST five months’, imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, following an RSPCA investigation and prosecution.
Magistrates ordered him to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.
IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED THAT MICHAEL SWEETMAN NOT BE LEFT ALONE WITH ANIMALS OR CHILDREN AS THERE IS A DIRECT CORRELATION BETWEEN ANIMAL ABUSE AND CHILD ABUSE, ESPECIALLY OF A SEXUAL NATURE.
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this website, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.