Man Sentenced To 16 Years In Prison For Killing 16 Cats And Sexually Abusing One

A man who killed 21 cats and sexually abused a dead one has been jailed for 16 years.

Robert Roy Farmer, who pleaded guilty last year to 21 counts of animal cruelty as well as misdemeanor battery and being under the influence, lured some of his prey from their homes in San Jose, California.

However, Santa Clara County Superior Court judge Sharon A. Chatman ruled that the 26-year-old will not be registered as a sex offender, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

Tests carried out by vets found signs of sexual abuse on a ginger tabby found in Farmer’s car when he was arrested, but the abuse was denied by defence lawyer Wesley Schroeder.

Ahead of sentencing, Mr Schroeder read a letter written by Farmer which read: ‘It feels like another man committed these crimes, but I know it was me.

‘It’s so hard to grasp I did this. I stole a member of their family. The fact that I was out of my mind was no excuse.’

The cats began disapearing in September 2015. Some turned up dead, including two that were found in a skip, but others have never been found.

Shocking footage captured by a security moment showed the moment that Farmer grabbed a 17-year-old ginger tabby from her owner’s front porch.

Farmer was found sleeping in a car with a dead cat curled up inside the vehicle in October 2015.

Police found chunks of fur, blood, fur-covered gloves and a hunting knife in Farmer’s car.

A cat that escaped from his clutches was later treated by a vet for a ‘bite that was not an animal bite, as well as the bleeding head injury’, local resident David Stine said.

Judge Chatman ordered Farmer to stay away from cats for 10 years after his release from jail.