Friday, November 9, 2007 12:10 AM CST
Prosecutor: Misdemeanor charges in horses case what current law allows
By DAVE FOPAY, Staff Writer
dfopay@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON — Ernest C. Rose will be in court later this month to face charges alleging neglect and other mistreatment of numerous horses he owns, and a prosecutor says the misdemeanor charges he filed in the case are appropriate.
Rose is charged with 45 counts of misdemeanor offenses in connection with the more than 60 horses that were found dead at or were removed from his farm at 1050 W. Coolidge Ave., Charleston, during August and September.
The charges against Rose are violation of owner’s duties, which accuse him of failing to provide the horses with sufficient food, water or veterinarian care, and unlawful disposal of a dead animal, alleging he didn’t dispose of dead horses as required within 24 hours of the animals’ deaths.
Rose’s first court appearance in the case is scheduled for Nov. 21.
State’s Attorney Steve Ferguson said there is a felony offense, aggravated cruelty to animals, that applies to some animal cases, but filing that charge requires proof of an intentional act of cruel treatment that caused the animal serious injury or death.
“We don’t have that here,” Ferguson said of Rose’s case.
State law doesn’t define cruel treatment except for “beating, tormenting, overworking or otherwise abusing” an animal, he explained. He said he thinks the law is “poorly drafted,” and he understands that the case frustrates some people.
“This situation obviously has an emotional ring to it and people think that’s cruel, but we’re working with statutory regulations,” he said. “There is a distinction between negligent conduct and intentional conduct.”
Ferguson said the law outlining the offense of violation of owner’s duties is more specific, stating that a violation takes place when an owner doesn’t provide food, water or care. It would be “crossing the line” to assume that failing to provide that care was intentional, he said.
A felony animal cruelty charge can result in a prison sentence of one to three years or probation. The charges against Rose carry a maximum penalty of six months in the county jail.
Meanwhile, there’s a hearing scheduled for Dec. 4 in U.S. District Court in Urbana in the federal lawsuit Rose’s attorney filed against the Coles County Animal Rescue and Education Center. The suit claims that seizing the horses violated Rose’s rights and asks that they be returned to him and that monetary damages be awarded.
Michael Tague, the Champaign attorney representing Rose, said state law requires a hearing, either by the Illinois Department of Agriculture or the county, before the horses could be taken.
Had a hearing taken place, Rose could have shown that only a “handful” of the horses should actually have been a concern and there could have been discussion of “some people’s idea that you provide every vaccine that comes out,” he said.
“The overwhelming evidence was that most of the horses were in good condition,” Tague said. “There is no basis for any claim of lack of nutrition, lack of weight or lack of veterinarian care.”
Ferguson said the law requires county animal control officials to help with an investigation and they can impound animals if needed.
“In my estimation, that provides the authority,” he said. He added that the state Agriculture Department has indicated that the county had “independent” jurisdiction in the case and was authorized to investigate and impound the animals.
The charges against Rose include accusations that there wasn’t veterinary case for various problems with some of the horses, including pneumonia, cracked hooves, skin disease, mouth sores and dental disease.
Coles County sheriff’s deputies and animal shelter officials first visited the farm on Aug. 1 and reportedly found some horses dead and numerous others in a state of neglect. On Sept. 12, authorities removed the remaining horses at the farm, about 60 in all, after they said Rose didn’t start caring for them properly as he indicated he would.
Contact Dave Fopay at dfopay@jg-tc.com or 348-5733.
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