 Kitten's neck snapped, abuser masturbates after
Moline, IL (US)Date: Sep 5, 2005
Local Map: available
Disposition: Convicted
Abuser/Suspect: Charles G. Hall
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The killing of a family cat and the sexually deviant acts that followed could lead Charles G. Hall to the intense counseling his mother says he desperately needs, but the East Moline man might not be in prison long enough for it to help.
Both Hall�s mother and a Rock Island County judge said Friday (June 2, 2006) that they fear what he could do without proper psychiatric treatment.
Hall, 20, of 408 15th Ave., had a sentencing hearing on June 2 in Rock Island County Circuit Court on a conviction stemming from a Sept. 5 incident in which he killed a cat by taking its body in his hands and bending it backward until the animal�s neck broke. He sexually gratified himself afterward, authorities said.
Circuit Judge Walter Braud sentenced Hall to two years in prison � the most the defendant was eligible for as part of a plea agreement � but �strongly recommended� he receive treatment during what likely will be a brief prison stint.
The judge said he worries Hall�s history of violent and sexually deviant behavior will grow significantly worse without help.
�The likelihood that he�s going to hurt someone very seriously is very high,� Braud said. �He does admit going out and looking for children.�
After imposing the sentence, he wished Hall good luck but expressed concern again.
�I hope that you can have some luck with your demons, at least keeping them under control and learning how to handle them,� he said. �You�ve already heard my sad prediction that we�ll be here again with bigger tears if you don�t.�
During the hearing, Hall�s mother, Rebecca Hall, asked that her son be sentenced to prison, saying she is worried about what he might do since past efforts to treat him locally have failed. She said her son served time in a state juvenile center at Kewanee for a 2002 sexual abuse conviction and was out for a year before killing the cat.
�We want him to come back to us and not come back into society and hurt someone or kill someone,� she told the judge.
Hall said her son has a talent for lying to people, including his counselors, and �making you believe what he wants you to believe.� Charles Hall declined an opportunity to make a statement to the court, but he smiled at his parents upon entering the courtroom.
Rock Island County Assistant State�s Attorney Jesse Brockway said she did not know Friday afternoon whether Hall will be eligible for Illinois� sexually deviant offender�s program, which can keep a prisoner in state custody until the person no longer is considered a threat.
�Hopefully he�ll be in there long enough to get the treatment he needs,� she said.
But treatment at the local level might be all Hall ultimately receives. With credit for good time served and having been in jail more than six months already, he could be released in less than six months, if not sooner.
Steve Kopp, a licensed mental health counselor for Psychology Associates in Davenport, said that while he was not involved in Hall�s case, he doubts a short prison sentence will be enough time to help the man.
�In a matter of months, no (he cannot be treated),� he said. �What I would assume is they will begin treatment with him (in prison), and then he will be continuing it.�
Kopp said it was rare to see a case of animal abuse so extreme, especially from a young adult.
�The average child isn�t out there breaking the necks of animals,� he added.
Kopp said younger children do not always understand that they have harmed an animal, but someone Hall�s age should be fully aware of the consequences of such actions.
�Younger children show more impulsive behavior, and with older kids it�s more premeditated and more complex rituals in the abuse,� he added.
Kopp said killing a cat or a dog desensitizes the individual and is different than killing a rodent or insect because people generally have been conditioned to view those animals differently.
With a cat, �that�s killing something that we care about, so we have to understand why the person is doing it,� he said.
Kopp said it was becoming more common for authorities to take aggressive action against animal abusers because of the tendency for them to commit more violent crimes in the future.
�It�s as much about prevention as anything,� he added. Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
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