Cat doused with kerosene and set on fire - Schenectady, NY

Tuesday, Dec 31, 1996

County: Schenectady

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: Chester L. Williamson

Case Updates: 4 update(s) available

An 18 month old tabby cat named Buster was doused with kerosene and burned to death by a Schenectady teenager in 1997.

According to reports, Chester Williamson was 16 years old when he tortured Buster. He would eventually be granted youthful offender status. Williamson was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to undergo psychiatric counseling.

Buster's Law, named after the deceased cat, made the most severe abuse of companion animals like dogs and cats punishable by up to two years in prison.

Case Updates

A city man pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 12-year-old mentlly disabled girl was sentenced to 12 years behind bars. The last time Chester Williamson was inside a Schenectady County courtroom he had asked a judge to withdraw that plea because he had been coerced into admitting to the crime. Visiting Judge Richard Sise said he found those comments to Williamson's probation officer particualry troubling prior to sentencing the defendant. In May, Williamson pleaded guilty to the top count of second-degree aggravated sexual abuse for luring the girl from her home to an isolated wooded area of Vale Park in Schenectady and attacking her in September, according to authorities. Williamson is the same man who, as a teen a decade ago, set fire to a cat named Buster, prompting a successful push to make animal cruelty a felony in New York.

Source: Times-Union - Sept 5, 2008 Update posted on Sep 6, 2008 - 10:30AM

A city man who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 12-year-old mentally disabled girl has asked a judge to withdraw that plea. In a letter dated July 16, Chester Williamson claims he was suffering from anxiety and depression from being jailed, had been coerced into admitting to the crime, and feels his lawyers could have done a better job of representing him.Williamson, 27, had earlier agreed to the plea agreement in exchange for a 12-year prison sentence that also called for him to register with the state as a sex offender. Attorney Todd Monahan told visiting Schenectady County Judge Richard Sise he had advised his client to go forward with the sentence. In May, Williamson pleaded guilty to the top count of second-degree aggravated sexual abuse for luring the girl from her home to an isolated wooded area of Vale Park in Schenectady and attacking her in September, according to authorities. On Tuesday, Sise told Williamson, 27, to make a formal written application to the court and ordered him to return Sept. 4, at which time Sise is expected to make a ruling on the motion. Prosecutor Andra Ackerman noted the negotiated sentence was "extremely generous," noting that, if convicted, Williamson faces 25 years to life in prison and a possible higher sexual offender classification. She also reminded the court the evidence against the defendant was overwhelming, a point that Sise underscored with his remarks. The judge said police allegedly found Williamson partially disrobed and aroused on top of the young girl. Williamson fled but was arrested by a state trooper and city officer when he returned for his bicycle, authorities said. "We agreed to 12 years to spare the child of having to testify," Ackerman said. Williamson is the same man who as a teen a decade ago set fire to a cat named Buster, prompting a successful push to make animal cruelty a felony in New York. In that case, Williamson was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to undergo psychiatric counseling. He also has been imprisoned for possession of stolen property and attempted burglary.

Source: DigiCity - Sept 5, 2008 Update posted on Sep 6, 2008 - 10:29AM

A three-time convicted felon who as a teen provided the impetus for a tougher animal cruelty law pleaded guilty today to sexually abusing a mentally disabled 12-year-old girl after luring her to a city park last fall. Chester Williamson is expected to draw a 12-year prison sentence for felony second-degree aggravated sexual abuse, according to Andra Ackerman, chief of the Schenectady County district attorney's special victims unit. Jury selection was to start this morning for his trial in a Schenectady County Courtroom. As part of the plea agreement, Williamson, 27, of Schenectady will also be sentenced July 22 by County Judge Richard Sise to 20 years of post-release supervision and have to register as sex offender. In September 2007, Williamson took the girl by the arm away from Eastern Avenue, walking her to a wooded section of Vale Park on the ruse they were looking for her sister. He began assaulting her, only to be interrupted by a city officer and state trooper investigating a report of a missing girl. Williamson fled but was arrested when he returned to the scene about 90 minutes later under the cover of darkness to collect his bicycle, police said. He was indicted in November on charges of second-degree aggravated sexual abuse, first-degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child. Williamson is the same individual who as a teen a decade ago set fire to a cat named Buster, prompting a campaign that made animal cruelty a felony in New York. In the case, Williamson was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to undergo psychiatric counseling. He has also been imprisoned for possession of stolen property and attempted burglary.

Source: TimesUnion.Com - May 27, 2008 Update posted on May 28, 2008 - 3:55PM

The man who set fire to a tabby cat named Buster in 1997 and inspired the push to make animal cruelty a felony in New York was held without bail on October 1, accused of trying to rape a 12-year-old girl in Vale Park. According to reports, Chester L. Williamson has accrued more than half a dozen arrests in the past ten years, and has spent time in state prison for two felony convictions. Records show the prison commitments were the result of convictions for possession of stolen property and attempted burglary. "Studies have shown that individuals who begin their criminal career abusing animals eventually do turn their criminal efforts toward humans," said Lt. Brian Kilcullen, a police spokesman. That was among the reasons advocates cited for harsher penalties in the wake of Buster's death. Williamson was just 16 in 1997 when he tortured Buster. He would eventually be granted youthful offender status. Williamson, now 26 and living on Donnan Avenue, is accused of pulling the girl off Eastern Avenue shortly after 5 p.m. Friday, taking her by the arm and walking her to a secluded portion of the wooded park, according to court records. Williamson then began assaulting her, only to be interrupted by Officer Michael Garavelli who, along with Officer Matthew Haskin, was investigating a report of a missing girl, Kilcullen said. Confronted by police, Williamson fled and initially escaped but was arrested when he returned to the scene about 90 minutes later to collect his bicycle, Kilcullen said. Earlier this month, at a homicide seminar hosted by the State Police, leading expert on animal cruelty and human violence Randall Lockwood described the violent childhood exploits of men who became killers. Violence toward animals has been an early warning sign in the lives of some of the country's most notorious killers -- from John Wilkes Booth to Jeffrey Dahmer, Lockwood said. City Court Judge Christine M. Clark ordered Williamson held without bail Monday citing his two prior felony convictions. He is charged with attempted rape, sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a child. According to the Department of Correctional Services, Williamson served time starting in 2003 for criminal possession of stolen property and then again for attempted burglary starting in 2005. A database on the department's Web site indicates he was paroled in April. State Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, the sponsor of Buster's Law, renewed his call Monday to strengthen the measure with an amendment that would require psychiatric evaluation of anyone convicted of it. The Schenectady Republican said that component was stripped from the initial legislation. In the Buster case, Williamson was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to undergo psychiatric counseling. Buster's Law made the most severe abuse of companion animals like dogs and cats punishable by up to two years in prison.

Source: Times-Union - Oct 2, 2007 Update posted on Oct 5, 2007 - 4:44PM

References

• « NY State Animal Cruelty Map
  « More cases in Schenectady County, NY

  Note: Classifications and other fields should not be used to determine what specific charges the suspect is facing or was convicted of - they are for research and statistical purposes only. The case report and subsequent updates outline the specific charges. Charges referenced in the original case report may be modified throughout the course of the investigation or trial, so case updates, when available, should always be considered the most accurate reflection of charges.
  
  For more information regarding classifications and usage of this database, please visit the database notes and disclaimer.