Leo Hertel, a 66-year-old man from Beloit, Wisconsin, faces felony animal mistreatment charges after tying a dog to a tree and repeatedly beating the animal with a baseball bat on June 14 2005,fracturing its skull,breaking its jaw and possibly causing the loss of sight in both eyes.
When Rock County Sheriff's deputies arrived on the scene after being called by witnesses, Hertel claimed he was punishing the dog for biting someone.
Veterinarians who administered treatment to the victim say the dog now suffers from a fractured skull and a broken jaw, and may be completely blind. A county humane society representative said that the dog looked like he had been hit by a semi.
A criminal complaint filed in Rock County Circuit Court also accuses Leo Hertel of threatened his wife with the bat when she tried to stop him from beating the dog. He faces charges of felony mistreatment of animals and domestic disorderly conduct with a weapon.
Leo Hertels alleged actions illustrate the correlation between cruelty to animals and other forms of violence. Mental-health professionals and top law-enforcement officials consider cruelty to animals to be a red flag. The American Psychiatric Association identifies cruelty to animals as one of the diagnostic criteria for conduct disorders, and the FBI uses reports of these crimes in analyzing the threat potential of suspected and known criminals. Experts agree that it is the severity of the behaviornot the species of the victimthat matters.
Further, the connection between crimes against animals and domestic violence is indisputable.
Because repeat crimes are the rule rather than the exception among animal abusers, and given the malicious and violent nature of his alleged crimes, We the undersigned ask that if convicted and in addition to the maximum period of incarcerationHertel be banned from owning animals for at least the five years allowed by Wisconsin law. We also ask that Hertel be required to undergo a thorough psychological evaluation followed by mandatory counseling.
