Animal Abuse: Kittens beaten, burned - Salt Lake City, UT | Pet-Abuse.Com Animal Cruelty Database

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Case ID: 9689

Classification: Beating, Burning - Caustic Substance

Animal: cat

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Case #9689 Rating: 3.0 out of 5

Kittens beaten, burned
Salt Lake City, UT (US)

Incident Date: Wednesday, May 31, 2006
County: Salt Lake

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 4 files available

Defendant/Suspect: Clint L. Wilkes

Case Updates: 5 update(s) available

Police are investigating a man who may have a history of abusing and killing kittens.

Investigators say the unidentified man is alleged to have gotten free kittens from ads in Salt Lake area newspapers then abused them.

In June the man's girlfriend brought in several kittens with broken bones to Salt Lake County Animal Services, say police. One kitten had a broken leg, broken tail and trauma to the body, as well as a mild concussion. Police told us when she returned home she found a second kitten with a broken tail and chemical burns.

Then, last week, another kitten was taken to a shelter with a broken tail and possible burns.

Police say the girlfriend of the alleged abuser told them that as many as seven or eight kittens were brought into the couple's home over the past few months, all of whom suffered injuries in various "accidents."

Several of the animals simply disappeared and police say the woman believes they were killed.

The alleged abuser has an upcoming arraignment on other charges later this month. He may face animal abuse charges in these cases.

In Utah animal abuse is a class B misdemeanor.

Case Updates

A Salt Lake County man accused of assaulting a girlfriend and abusing kittens was sentenced Monday to 60 days in jail and probation for one year.

Clint L. Wilkes, 29, had pleaded no contest to animal abandonment and guilty to simple assault, both class B misdemeanors.

Salt Lake Justice Court Judge Peggy Acomb ordered Wilkes to obtain an evaluation and treatment, and submit to random drug testing.

Restitution for both cases is yet to be determined.

Of five kittens that Wilkes found through newspaper ads, several suffered injuries and all eventually disappeared, according to prosecutors.

The girlfriend suffered bruises and hit her head when Wilkes threw her down onto paving stones last summer.

Source: Salt Lake Tribune � May 22, 2007
Update posted on May 22, 2007 - 4:01PM

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Clint Wilkes pleaded guilty Monday but not to the charges of animal cruelty. Wilkes pleaded guilty to domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend in a plea deal.

The two counts of animal cruelty were dropped in exchanged for the plea.

Animal activists are aghast at the crimes Wilkes is accused of; breaking a tail, breaking a leg, burning the kitten. They say dropping those accusations is just too much.

The defense for Clint Wilkes says he was addicted to meth when he was in a relationship with his ex-girlfriend last summer.

Kip Barnes is Wilkes' uncle. He says, "She would hit him and slap him. It was an ugly situation, I told him several times he needed to stay away from it."

Wilkes pleaded guilty to a non-domestic assault charge. In exchange the two counts of animal cruelty were dropped.

Temma Martin with Salt Lake County Animal Services took care of the cats that Wilkes' is accused of abusing. She says, "We had at least part of a decent case. To see that dropped as part of plea bargain is heart-breaking."

But she wasn't only concerned for the animals.

"If a person is capable of abusing an animal, in a lot of cases, they are capable being violent against a person," says Martin.

When asked about the charges of animal abuse � Wilkes blamed his girlfriend.

"You should check out the person that brought the counts," Wilkes said.

So does Wilkes' Uncle Kip Barnes. He says "She makes these allegations and then never shows up."

Wilkes also pleaded no contest to the charge of animal abandonment, a class B misdemeanor.

Animal activist Larayn Clegg says that is not enough, "Although we have the weakest laws in the country. We do want to see the charges taken more seriously in our court systems."

Animal rights activists gathered in protest at the governor's mansion last weekend. They were calling for a special session of the legislature to be called, urging law makers to make the charge of animal cruelty a felony in Utah.

Clint Wilkes will be sentenced on May 21 of this year.

Source: KUTV - March 26, 2007
Update posted on Mar 27, 2007 - 6:00AM

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A 29-year-old man accused of abusing kittens he found through newspaper ads pleaded guilty Monday in Salt Lake County Justice Court to one count of class B misdemeanor animal abandonment.

Clint L. Wilkes faces up to six months in jail when he is sentenced May 21 by Judge Peggy Acomb.

Wilkes broke the animals' bones and burned them with chemicals, according to county Animal Control investigators.

As part of a plea deal, two other misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty were dismissed.

Source: Salt Lake Tribune - March 26, 2007
Update posted on Mar 27, 2007 - 5:50AM

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Clint L. Wilkes, who faces misdemeanor charges in connection with allegations that he abused kittens, has entered a not guilty plea in Salt Lake County Municipal Justice Court, according to a court official.

Wilkes is charged with two counts of animal cruelty and one of animal abandonment, all class B misdemeanors.

Salt Lake County Animal Services launched an investigation in June after a woman, believed to be Wilkes' girlfriend, brought two injured kittens into the agency.

"The woman had already taken the first kitten to the vet, and it had a broken leg, burns on the tail and the tail appeared to be broken. She later brought in another kitten with burned ears and a burned tail," according to Temma Martin, spokeswoman for Salt Lake County Animal Services.

Wilkes relinquished legal custody of the kittens to animal services on June 13, Martin said.

One kitten has been adopted, Martin said, and the other is still at animal services and is available for adoption.

Source: Deseret Morning News - Oct 18, 2006
Update posted on Oct 23, 2006 - 8:38AM

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A man investigators believe has been collecting free kittens through newspaper classifieds for the purpose of torturing them is being investigated by Salt Lake County Animal Services.

Salt Lake County Animal ServicesIvie, a kitten at Salt Lake County Animal Services, was rescued in June. The man was charged with two counts of animal abuse and one count of abandonment, all misdemeanors, in June. He is scheduled to be arraigned on those charges Oct. 17. Now, investigators are looking at other possible abuse cases. Another injured kitten was brought to their attention just last week.

The purpose of the abuse appears to be to keep in contact with a former girlfriend, Animal Services spokeswoman Temma Martin said.

Investigators believe the man has adopted a total of seven or eight kittens over the past few months. Nearly all of them have suffered some type of "accident." After each incident, the man called the former girlfriend so she would come over and help with the injured animal.

"Nobody gets that many kittens and has that many accidents," Martin said.

Some of those alleged accidents included a kitten with a broken front leg and another with a broken, and possibly burned, tail and burnt ears. After that kitten was brought to the shelter, Animal Services was forced to amputate part of the tail because of the damage, Martin said.

In one case, the man claimed a cat was inside some rolled up carpet that he accidentally stepped on, Martin said. In another, the man claimed he found the kitten with burnt ears, again after being in rolled up carpet, she said. In at least one case he blamed neighbor children for taking his kittens, Martin said.

Investigators were alerted to the suspected abuse when the former girlfriend brought two kittens to them. Of the seven or eight kittens the man has taken in, the former girlfriend said some of them have simply disappeared.

"She doesn't even know what happened to them. She thinks they were killed," Martin said.

Animal Services did not want to release the name of the Kearns man for fear he might retaliate against the former girlfriend. Martin said there is a history of domestic abuse between the couple that has been documented by reports from the sheriff's office. His name, however, will become public record at the time of his arraignment on the charges.

Martin said her office wants to get the word out to residents, partly to warn against giving kittens away for free.

"This is both a sick case of animal abuse and a warning to the community about giving away unwanted baby animals," she said.

Instead of giving them away to unfamiliar people, she said, entrusting the animals to a shelter - where they can be humanely cared for is a better option.

The Newspaper Agency Corp. - which handles classified advertising for the Deseret Morning News and The Salt Lake Tribune - has made it a policy for a number of years to not accept advertisements for free pets because of Humane Society concerns.

Of the two kittens that the former girlfriend brought to the shelter in June, one has since been adopted and the other has regained its health and is available for adoption at the shelter. The third kitten is still being cared for at the shelter.

"It is concerning because the link between animal abuse and violence is huge," Martin said.

A 1997 American Humane Association survey of the 50 largest shelters for battered women in the United States reported that 85 percent of the women and 63 percent of the children who enter those shelters mention incidents of pet abuse in the family.

"It seems that he was using the kittens to keep her around," Martin said of the local case. "She feels sorry for them and he uses that and it becomes part of the vicious cycle."

The former girlfriend of a man suspected of abusing kittens brought one to the shelter with chemical burns. The kitten was adopted. Utah is one of only a few states without a felony animal cruelty statute, even for aggravated animal abuse. Animal abuse in Utah is a class B misdemeanor, usually punishable by a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail.

Source: Deseret Morning News - Oct 5, 2006
Update posted on Oct 5, 2006 - 8:28AM

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Kittens beaten, burnedSalt Lake City, UT (US)

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Kittens beaten, burned
Salt Lake City, UT (US)