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By Jordan King
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A Virginia man who tortured cats and then used images and videos of their injuries to scam people into donating money to what they thought were pets needing treatment for cancer has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Rodney Travis Jr., 27, pleaded guilty to animal cruelty and computer fraud at Henrico County Circuit Court in Richmond, Virginia, on Wednesday.
Judge Linda Lambert accepted a plea agreement, reviewed by Newsweek, that requires Travis to serve 15 years in prison and bars him from owning or intentionally having contact with animals for life.
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Prosecutors said Travis beat and maimed nearly 20 cats, then uploaded videos on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to solicit donations, according to Courthouse News Service.
Newsweek contacted the Henrico County Circuit Court on Friday for indictment documents.
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The accounts raised more than $400,000, according to prosecutors.
Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor described the prison term as the longest animal cruelty sentence imposed in Virginia. It “reflects the horrific crimes the defendant inflicted on these cats,” she said, local newspaper the Henrico Citizen reported.
Travis pleaded guilty to six felony animal cruelty charges, one misdemeanor animal cruelty charge and three felony computer fraud charges. His plea agreement also calls for $25,000 in fines and five years of supervised probation after his release.
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How the Investigation Unfolded
The investigation began on February 12, when the Virginia Attorney General’s Office and Chesterfield County Animal Control officers flagged social media posts showing cats in pain to Henrico police.
“Henrico Detectives immediately began investigating and through community assistance and multi-agency cooperation were able to locate the places where this content was being produced,” the department said at the time.
Travis was arrested at his residence in Chesterfield County the next day while multiple cats were seized and given veterinarian care.
A criminal complaint obtained by WTVR in Richmond described videos of a cat named Hayden bleeding from its mouth and nose. Travis asked viewers for money while claiming Hayden had cancer, according to the complaint. It was later found that Hayden had a fractured skull, broken ribs and a fractured spine, according to the court records obtained by WTVR.
How the Sentence Compares
Other Virginia animal cruelty cases that have brought lengthy prison terms include Eldridge Freeman Jr., who was sentenced to 10 years in 2019 after being convicted of 37 dogfighting and animal cruelty counts involving 26 dogs, according to WWBT in Richmond.
In another case, Dale Comer Jr. received five years in 2021 after convictions that included 26 felony animal fighting counts and 20 misdemeanor animal cruelty counts. The Virginia Attorney General’s Office described it as the longest cockfighting sentence in state and U.S. history.
Senior Assistant Attorney General Michelle Welch prosecuted Comer’s case, according to the AG’s office. Welch also signed Travis’ plea agreement on behalf of the prosecution.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: John Fitzpatrick and Dave Siminoff.
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