Berks Co. Kitty Tosser Gets Probation

February 18, 2006 -- A man who beat three kittens and threw them out a fourth-floor window avoided prison time and was sentenced to two years' probation.

Henry L. Stetler, 59, of Douglass Township, told Berks County Judge Jeffrey K. Sprecher on Friday that he could not explain why he killed the animals.

"I don't know that it's the court's job to understand what happened because this court deals with many people from all walks of life and many backgrounds," Sprecher said. "I believe the punishment should fit the crime. I believe in this case it does."

Sprecher also fined Stetler $3,000 and ordered him to perform 24 hours of community service. Assistant District Attorney Colleen Dugan had asked Sprecher to sentence Stetler to three months to six years in prison.

Stetler's attorney, Michael Dautrich, provided letters from Stetler's supporters, who said he was a model citizen who volunteered in the community. The judge said those letters and Stetler's lack of a criminal record showed he was unlikely to repeat his behavior.

But Karel Minor, executive director of the Humane Society of Berks County, said the sentence was too light. "Teenagers get more time for petty vandalism than Stetler received today in court," she said in a statement after the sentencing.

Stetler was working in a vacant textile mill on April 9 when he found the kittens. He used a metal rod to beat the animals, then walked to an open window and tossed out the bodies, according to court records.

Authorities later found two of the dead kittens, but the third was never located.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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