- New Jersey, USA -
On the afternoon of Thursday, May 13, 36-year-old MATTHEW WYDRINSKI appeared before Mercer County Superior Court Judge J. Adam Hughes and entered a plea of not guilty to an accusation charging him with third-degree animal cruelty.
WYDRINSKI allowed his 7-year-old Pitbull named Tori, to starve to death.
In November 2019, a video was published on Facebook requesting help for Tori.
The East Windsor Township Police Department said in a press release that they became aware of the situation on December 4, after receiving a report.
“The report was in response to a Facebook post containing a video of a sick dog, where
the owner was requesting assistance”, said the police.
Sadly, Tori died as a result of being severely undernourished.
Following a joint investigation with the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, WYDRINSKI was arrested on February 13, 2020, and charged with animal cruelty for failing to provide the animal with necessary care.
According to a petition published on AnimalVictory.org on February 18, 2020, Tori had only been with WYDRINSKI for four months.
Prior to that, Tori had been part of a family her entire life but when her guardians divorced, Tori was given away.
WYDRINSKI will not be spending any time in jail because New Jersey law does not consider animal abuse a violent crime.
Instead, WYDRINSKI was admitted into PTI Program (Pretrial Intervention Program).
New Jersey Courts website states that “The Pretrial Intervention Program (PTI) provides defendants, generally first-time offenders, with opportunities for alternatives to the traditional criminal justice process of ordinary prosecution. PTI seeks to render early rehabilitative services when such services can reasonably be expected to deter future criminal behavior.”
MidJersey.News reports that the PTI program requires WYDRINSKI “to complete 40 hours of community service, pay fines and costs associated with the case, obtain/maintain employment, and report to a supervising probation officer as directed for a three-year period. He is also forbidden from owning or possessing any animals during the term of PTI.”
A JOKE!!!
Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri said: “Regardless of my personal views on animal cruelty laws, I am bound to enforce the law as it is written. Until such time as animal cruelty laws are changed, PTI will remain an appropriate and common resolution to these types of crimes.”
I am simply speechless!
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WYDRINSKI's mugshot courtesy of East Windsor Township Police Department
