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Case #2260 Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Pigs beaten and sodmized at school
White Swan, WA (US)Incident Date: Friday, Apr 23, 2004
County: Yakima
Disposition: Convicted
Defendants/Suspects:
» Name Undisclosed
» Name Undisclosed
» Name Undisclosed
» Name Undisclosed
» Name Undisclosed
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
The five children who broke into White Swan High School's barn Friday and tortured pigs with canes, axes, knives and hammers could face charges of first-degree animal cruelty, a class-C felony, and second degree burglary, said Mike Laws, supervising attorney for the juvenile division of the Yakima County Prosecutor's Office.
However, Yakima County Sheriff's deputies must conclude their investigation before charges are filed, he added.
"I think we'll probably get something filed by the end of the week," Laws said.
Four of the students involved were only 12 years old, and one was 13.
School officials assured that disciplinary measures would be taken but couldn't comment on the extent pending the investigation.
Students and parents filtered into the school barns Monday, helping nurse injured pigs back to health. Two pigs are receiving antibiotics for their injuries.
The two pigs that died were found brutalized in their pens while the others were scattered throughout the area, Lewis said. One couldn't stand because its hind end was torn open and head beaten with a hammer, Lewis said.
Another pig had roughly 10 to 15 penetrating wounds to its rectal area, Lewis added. Several other pigs bore scratches, scrapes and bruises.
"Their purpose was to torture them, sodomize them," Colleen Wentz said, noting that her daughter, Kayla, hasn't slept since the incident. "When I saw them in the police car afterward laughing, waving ..."
If you wish to send a polite letter to the prosecuting attorney regarding this case, you may reach him at:
Michael Laws, Supervising Prosecuting Attorney
E-mail: [email protected]
Telephone: (509)574-1260
Case UpdatesDistrict Court Supervisor Mike Laws stated, "It appears that these 12 year old kids (one of whom has no lower legs and only partial fingers on one hand) went into the Agriculture barn at the school, intending to ride on the pigs. These are not your small, pet-type "Babe - Pig in the City" sized pigs, but rather were quite large hogs. It is certainly not appropriate for kids or anyone to ride around on the pigs, but riding on the pigs alone would not constitute a crime. "
Laws goes on to state that he believes that while the pigs were out of their pens they began to fight with each other and injure each other. He believes that this is where most of the blood appears to have come from, at which point the kids tried to separate them and get them back into their pens. He believes the children probably struck the pigs with the herding canes in an effort to separate them and get them back into their pens so the kids could get away without getting into further trouble.
Laws explained that allegations about the pigs being sodomized was not based on any evidence that was admissible, and "would NEVER have been able to be discussed or brought up in the trial, had there been one".
There were many complications (from a legal evidentiary perspective) involving this case, and Laws felt it would have been unlikely to have secured a conviction if it had gone to trial:
"For example, the crime scene was not adequately preserved, and when law enforcement came back to the crime scene after trying to locate the kids under suspicion, they found the parents of the FFA kids there cleaning up the mess with bleach and so forth, not realizing that they were likely destroying evidence. The implements that were supposedly used to injure the pigs were collected up by the janitor at the school and tossed into the back of a pickup where they rattled around for three days before they were secured by law enforcement - not admissible in court. Statements given by the kids to the school officials were made without parents or counsel present, and without any Miranda warnings given - none of those statements are admissible in court. One of the sheriff's deputies saw someone in the barn taking pictures and asked them for copies of the digital camera disk rather than taking their own pictures - potential chain of custody issues, plus - there were pictures on the disc of injured pigs that were taken BEFORE this incident took place. There were also statements from school security and other personnel indicating that there had been numerous dog attacks at the Agriculture barn - and the problem is that we have to prove WHICH wounds were caused by kids, which were caused by dogs... etc.... impossible to do without adequate pictures."
Laws felt that rather than run the risk of going to trial and ending up with no probation, no community service hours, no restitution to the victims, no admission of guilt, and no mental health evaluation & treatment - it was better to resolve the case by way of deferred disposition in juvenile court. This means that the defendants (they're actually called "respondents" in Juvenile court) have to comply with the following conditions:
1. 40 hours of community service
2. Be on probation supervision for one year
3. Pay restitution to the victims
4. Obtain a mental health evaluation and comply with any recommended follow up treatment at the direction of probation officer
If they comply with all of the above conditions, and they do not get any further convictions for one year, then at the end of the deferred disposition (one year), the charges against them would be dismissed.
Laws explained that the crime of animal cruelty in the first degree is now what is called a "B+" felony. That means that it is only 1/2 step below the crime of "Rape of a Child in the First Degree". | | Update posted on Jan 23, 2005 - 1:52AM |
References« WA State Animal Cruelty Map
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