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Case #15535 Rating: 3.2 out of 5
Animal and child neglect alleged
Saranac Lake, NY (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Jun 2, 2009
County: Franklin
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: John J. Guest
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
State police arrested a 62-year-old resident of the Gabriels-Rainbow Lake road Tuesday morning, saying he failed to provide proper care for his child and numerous animals.
John J. Guest was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and torturing, injuring or not feeding animals, both class A misdemeanors.
State police said they were acting in response to a May 27 report of the abuse and that they were aided by the Tri-Lakes Humane Society and the Franklin County District Attorney's Office. They investigated Tuesday and arrested Guest at 8:35 a.m. at his home at 85 County Route 60, also known as the Rainbow Lake Road, in the town of Brighton.
The child is a daughter, according to numerous sources, and is 8 years old, WPTZ television reported. She was taken into custody by Franklin County Child Protective Services, police said.
The Humane Society removed one horse, eight chickens, four cats, one dog, two peacocks, one cockatiel and one guinea pig due to their malnourished physical condition, unsanitary living conditions and numerous untreated injuries. The animals were taken to the Humane Society shelter in Saranac Lake, where a veterinarian is attending to their medical needs.
Martha Pickard, a neighbor of Guest, would not speak about the child-endangerment charge but said this morning that the animals' welfare "was a concern of the whole neighborhood."
Sandy Myatt, a Saranac Lake native now living in Alaska who came home to visit her family, said she was worried about the daughter.
"I saw her playing in the middle of the road on Sunday; we almost hit her," Myatt said. "She looked very dirty and unkempt." Rather than poverty, she said she thinks the cause is "downright ignorance and abuse."
She also saw the condition of Guest's horse.
"I've raised, trained and bred quarter horses for 15 years. I show my horses in competition. I've been involved in a lot of equine rescue in Alaska." Myatt said. "You can count every single one of (Guest's) horse's ribs. I figured, if that horse wasn't taken out of that situation, it would have died in a couple weeks."
Myatt said she called the state police regarding the animal welfare situation on Monday, but police had already heard of it. She said she reported the situation regarding the child's welfare Tuesday to state Child Protective Services.
Case UpdatesA Franklin county, New York man accused of neglecting more than a dozen animals has pleaded guilty to one count of animal cruelty.
John Guest, of Gabriels, was arrested in June.
Police said he neglected 20 animals on his property some to the brink of death.
At the time of his arrest, Guest was also charged with endangering the welfare of a child.
His 8-year-old daughter was living with him.
Guest had been locked up since his arrest, but as part of a plea deal he received time served and was released last month.
Officials with the Tri-Lakes Humane Society said that almost all of the animals taken from Guest's property have been adopted, but they have one dog and several chickens that are still looking for homes. | Source: WPTZ - Aug 27, 2009
Update posted on Aug 30, 2009 - 8:56PM |
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