- Georgia, USA -
~ Update: August 25, 2022
On Tuesday, August 23, 2022, 27-years-old CHARLES WILLIAM VAN PELT (pictured), pleaded guilty to felony aggravated animal cruelty for savagely and unmercifully stomping on his wife’s dog, a 9-year-old Dachshund named Penny, on January 6, 2022. The 17-pound sweet furbaby was euthanized the following day.
VAN PELT faced a maximum five years in prison but in a negotiated plea, Superior Court Judge Ron Mullins sentenced him to five years in prison with ONLY three to serve and the rest on probation.
VAN PELT was also ordered to pay his estranged wife Loren Van Pelt $761.92 in restitution for vet bills, perform 1,000 hours of community service, pay a $1,000 fine, pay, and abide by the following other restrictions Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Schwartz requested:
He is not to own a domesticated animal nor visit any place where one is present.
He is to have no contact with Loren Van Pelt or her family.
He is to own no firearm or ammunition.
He is to consume no alcohol or illegal drugs and must undergo testing.
He is to undergo a mental health and alcohol abuse evaluation, and complete any recommended treatment.
He must participate in an anger management and domestic violence intervention program.
He must submit a DNA sample.
He must be tested for sexually transmitted diseases.
He must abide by a curfew.
He is not to seek any early termination of his probation or its conditions.
Ledger-Enquirer reports that Schwartz told judge Mullins that VAN PELT often commented to his wife and others that she loved the dogs more than she loved him.
He even told his wife that he had previously kicked Penny “like a football” and hit her with a water bottle.
Schwartz explained to judge Mullins: “This is especially known in a domestic-violence context, where violence against an animal is often used as either a substitute for violence against a domestic partner, or is a practice warm up, or is a coercive measure designed to instill fear.”
She later added: “Hopefully we have intervened with Mr. Van Pelt before he starts acting out against humans, and this sentence will interrupt any future behavior in that regard.”
VAN PELT’s defense attorney Anthony Johnson asked judge Mullins to grant his client first offender status, which would have cleared VAN PELT’s criminal record if he successfully completed his probation. The judge, however, refused to do that after Schwartz advised him that VAN PELT had been charged with sexual assault in Alabama.
Additional Source:
~ Original story:
A male subhuman who murdered an innocent dog on January 5, 2022, was arrested on Saturday, February 5, after a neighbor obtained surveillance camera footage that captured the act and alerted the authorities.
26-years-old CHARLES WILLIAM VAN PELT (pictured below) is accused of stomping his wife’s dog to death. The furbaby, a 9-year-old Dachshund named Penny, suffered seizures, brain damage and serious head trauma. The VOICELESS VICTIM survived the attack but 30 hours later a veterinarian euthanized her because of the severity of the injuries.
The day of the incident, VAN PELT had taken his wife to work and then returned home.
VAN PELT can be seen in the devastating video trapping Penny in her pen and then proceeding to mercilessly and repeatedly stomp the defenseless furbaby.
VAN PELT was arrested on a charge of felony aggravated animal cruelty and booked into the Muscogee County Jail.
On Monday, February 7, Recorder’s Court Judge Julius Hunter refused to set bond for VAN PELT, citing his concerns for the welfare of people around VAN PELT.
Judge Hunter rightfully said: “If something drove him to actually do this act to that dog, what’s keeping him from doing this to a human being.”
On Thursday, February 10, VAN PELT waived his appearance in Recorder’s Court and waived his preliminary hearing on a charge of felony aggravated animal cruelty through his public defender.
WTVM reports that Ms. Jennifer Reese, a co-worker of VAN PELT’s wife, said: “He did voice his dislike towards Penny because he says his wife loved the dog more than she did him.”
According to Georgia law, the felony offense that VAN PELT is facing comes with a minimum penalty of only one year jail time.
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Thank you, this was such an abomination, & I’m so glad this subhuman is going to pay.
Bless Superior Court Judge Ron Mullins, Judge Julius Hunter, & Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Schwartz for believing in justice for wee Penny! The restrictions that were placed on the monster Charles Van Pelt were meaningful! I have been blessed with three weenie dogs in my lifetime, & when I read the about the cruelty that this s**thead did to Penny I was livid. He is a whiny cruel a**hole & I pray when he goes to Hell, he will feel every pain, all the hurt & fear Penny lived through. Bless her little baby heart, Penny runs free now. Bless you Precious Soul.
This horrible monster is such a big coward that when he got jealous of the affection given to Penny, he took it upon himself to stomp a poor weenie dog Penny & crush her skull. This blessed little soul hung on til her Momma could take her to the vet & hold her. RIP PENNY. Burn in Hell you POS COWARD!