MAN WHO DANGLED CAT FROM WINDOW TO SPITE GIRLFRIEND IS FINED
A HOMELESS man accused of stealing thousands of pounds’ worth of belongings from a woman who took him into her home has been cleared of wrongdoing, but convicted on a separate charge of animal cruelty after he dangled a cat from a window to spite his ex-girlfriend.Ipswich Crown Court heard the woman became frustrated O'Sullivan would not get a job - after she broke up with him, he responded by holding the cat by its neck and dangling it from the first floor of their Colchester flat.
He then took a photograph of the cat and sent it to his ex “out of spite”, the court heard.
O’Sullivan admitted the offence, but then faced another accusation two months later when he was accused of stealing items which belonged to another woman he moved in with in Braintree.
The woman, Riley-Grace Slater, who O’Sullivan met on Snapchat, took him into her home after he was made homeless.
O’Sullivan told a jury Miss Slater would threaten him to throw him out onto the street if the two did not start a relationship.
He said: “She let me stay at hers and I was grateful for somewhere to stay, because I didn’t have anywhere to stay.
“She tried to bribe me by giving me stuff, which I was more than happy to accept.
“She was very pushy – she wanted to be in a relationship with me, she wanted to get out and do things with me but I refused.
One night she was very drunk and very, very angry with me, saying if I didn’t do stuff with her, I would be homeless.
Under cross-examination from Juliette Donovan, prosecuting, O’Sullivan – who has previous convictions for robbery and assault – said he did not steal from Miss Slater because she had given him various belongings which included an iPhone, a Chanel suitcase, and £1,000 in cash.
He was also accused of stealing jewellery, including a pendant which contained Miss Slater's mother's ashes.
Miss Donovan said: “This is what you do, isn’t it – somebody gives you a home and of course, immediately, there is a source of cash, there is a source of items for you to sell.
“You’re saying you decided suddenly to change – not to steal, not to rob; you decided to become the honourable person that you ought to be, and help her.” After deliberating for two hours and give minutes, the jury unanimously cleared O’Sullivan, now of Fonnereau Road, Ipswich, on one count of theft.
Judge David Wilson fined him £200 for causing unnecessary suffering to the cat.
