How on earth is this allowed to happen? This is obscene!
Cat-microwaving teens spared jail time
Ben Gelinas, The Edmonton Journal
Published: 2:01 am
CAMROSE - Two teenagers who cooked a Camrose cat to death in a microwave have been banned from playing violent video games and cannot own animals for at least two years, which means one boy's family must get rid of a dog they bought 10 weeks ago.
The boys pleaded guilty in July to charges of unlawfully killing an animal, unlawfully causing pain or suffering to an animal, break, enter and theft, and mischief.
According to court ordered psychological assessments, video games were not found to have directly encouraged the boys' actions. But barring their access to such games was nonetheless a recommendation put forward in the assessments.
It was also suggested that the teens' cellphone access be limited to work and calls to family. But youth court Judge Shauna Miller said that condition would have served no purpose.
She ordered that the boys serve one year of probation, during which they must perform 100 hours of community service.
They must see a therapist, and each pay $250 restitution to cover the deductible the victims paid to their insurance company, which otherwise covered the cost of property damage.
A curfew was also imposed for the probationary period. The boys must be home between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Miller said the family of one boy has two months to get rid of a dog recently bought for the boy's younger siblings.
The boys' lawyers argued their clients have been paying for their crimes since word first got out in the small city of Camrose. The boys' names cannot be published under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. But shortly after the crime their names were posted on Facebook, a social networking website.
One boy's family relocated to Edmonton to avoid the backlash. Before he left, someone placed a microwave inside his locker with a toy cat in it.
The other boy still lives in Camrose. School hasn't been easy since, defence lawyer Bill Andressen said.
The boys are both 16 now. It's been nine months since the cat was killed, and they haven't been able to explain why they did it.
The psychological assessments were not able to determine a motive.
"We are perplexed," Crown prosecutor John Laluk said. "There is certainly no evidence of mental illness."
The boys were not intoxicated.
On Thursday, the two took turns apologizing to the court for their actions.
The boys, believed by the Crown to be primarily responsible for killing the cat, were ordered not to communicate with the victims, nor with two other boys charged in the incident.
A 15-year-old and a 13-year-old have pleaded not guilty. Their trial has been set for Nov. 17.
The two boys sentenced Thursday were among a group that allegedly broke into a former friend's family home on Dec. 29, and again the next day, while the residents were away on a post-Christmas vacation.
The two boys, both 15 at the time, have admitted that on the first night they put holes in walls, smashed the family's belongings, and stole a guitar and a paintball gun. When they returned the next night, they broke more things, causing up to $25,000 in damage.
Then the two boys grabbed the family's cat, named Princess, and stuffed it in a microwave.