Teens Sentenced to Probation Over Viral Animal Cruelty Video

Three boys, two ages 15 and one, age 16, were each sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to complete between 50 to 120 hours of community service for their role in a widely condemned act of animal cruelty captured on video. All three must also enroll in anger management and other rehabilitation programs, per today’s ruling by the Senior Magistrate. Two adults, 19-year-old Tyrique Straughan and 19-year-old Raheem Herbert, were fined $205 each and similarly ordered to complete community service and participate in anger management programs. They will face two months in jail if they fail to pay the fine by October 1. All five individuals had previously pleaded guilty to cruelty to animal. (COURT VO 1 STARTS) A separate cattle theft charge remains pending, with the court awaiting a directive from the Director of Public Prosecutions on how that case will proceed and against whom. The sentencing lasted nearly two hours this morning, where each of the minors presented character witnesses including parents and employers. Despite being described as longtime animal lovers, the Senior Magistrate called their actions “an unprovoked attack on a helpless animal.” The 16-year-old, deemed the most involved, must complete 120 hours of community service, attend multiple court-ordered programs, and check in with the Community Rehabilitation Department twice weekly. The first 15-year-old, who pleaded guilty early, was credited with a lighter sentence of 80 community service hours. The second 15-year-old, who changed his plea later today, was ordered to complete 50 hours and enroll in cognitive behavioral counseling and school monitoring due to prior truancy issues. The five teens were initially arraigned on April 11, where they were also charged with abetment to animal cruelty which has since been withdrawn, and cattle theft which remains active. They were granted bail under strict conditions, including curfews and regular police check-ins. The viral video that sparked public outrage showed the teens attacking a horse with machetes, which one of the minors later claimed was in retaliation for harm done to his own horse by the victim. All five are due back in court on August 11, when the prosecution is expected to announce how it will proceed with the cattle theft charge.