- Illinois, USA -
A court date is coming up for 59-years-old LARS STIG SORENSEN (pictured), of Algonquin, charged with eighty-two (82) felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals.
Charges against SORENSEN were filed in October 2023, after a veterinarian at Huntley Animal Care told the authorities that SORENSEN had brought in five cats to be euthanized. According to the police report, the vet said the cats “were in horrible condition, ... covered in urine and some had upper respiratory infections on top of their visible injuries.” The vet also provided the police with pictures of the cats. “The cats had bleeding and infected wounds, looked visibly underweight and overall, looked extremely sickly”, stated the report.
An officer began investigating and learned that SORENSEN had gone to other veterinary clinics in the area bringing in cats to be euthanized. One of the clinics told police that according to their records, from 2014 to 2016 SORENSEN had been there and had euthanized a total of twenty-two (22) cats.
According to the press release by the Algonquin Police Department obtained by Voice For Us, officers obtained a search warrant which was executed at SORENSEN’s home on 316 Emerald Lane on October 23, 2023.
According to the police report, “the floors of the residence, walls, and many other surfaces were covered in what appeared to be feline excrement and hair.”
The report goes on to state: “There were an undetermined and uncountable number of cats throughout the residence. The interior of the residence appeared in complete disarray, with waste and filth throughout.”
Officials removed a hundred and one (101) cats from SORENSEN’s townhouse and the property “was condemned as unfit for human occupancy, due to the hazardous living conditions.”
Police said out of a hundred and one cats, sadly, eighty-two (82) had to be euthanized by Kane County Animal Control, “due to their adverse health conditions.”
The remaining cats are at Kane County Animal Control.
According to Daily Herald, Kane County Animal Control Executive Director Brett Youngsteadt said: “Our ultimate goal is to rehabilitate them so they can be adopted. In these hoarding situations, it becomes like ‘Lord of the Flies,’ with each cat jockeying for position.”
He also added: “We had to do what was best for these cats.” The cats could not be released as feral cats because they are imprinted by humans. If a feral cat is approached, it runs away. The cats would put the public at risk if a child or adult were to try to pet it.”
SORENSEN told police that he and his wife at the beginning had four cats. Later the couple allowed feral cats to come inside and they started breeding.
It’s unknown why no one reported SORENSEN between 2014 to 2016 when the innocent twenty-two (22) cats were euthanized!
Court records show that SORENSEN is expected at Kane County Circuit Court on the morning of Wednesday, March 20, 2024, at 9:00 before Judge Donald M. Tegeler Jr.
Disclaimer: This story is sourced from official documents provided to Voice For Us.
Please note that details may be removed or new information added should such sources report an update.
In the case of charges being dropped, dismissed, or the case being purged, this article will be rectified accordingly, if official documentation is provided to Voice For Us.
SORENSEN’s mugshot provided to Voice For Us by the Kane County Sheriff's Office.
