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Bani Mezquititla, 19, pleaded guilty to third-degree animal cruelty by tormenting, torturing, or unnecessarily or cruelly abusing a living animal resulting in its death, and third-degree animal cruelty by using or causing or procuring the use of an animal or creature in any kind of sexual manner. Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago announced the guilty plea in a news release on Wednesday, Apr. 10.
Asbury Park police began investigating after someone brought a dead cat's body to the department's headquarters on Thursday, Mar. 2, 2023. The humane law enforcement division for the Monmouth County SPCA determined that Mezquititla owned the cat.
Investigators said Mezquititla seriously injured the cat after performing "sexual acts" on it. He was also accused of restraining and torturing the cat, causing it to die.
Mezquititla was arrested on the same day the investigation began and he has been held at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution since his arrest. A grand jury indicted him in May 2023.
Prosecutors said they're seeking five years in prison for Mezquititla. They'll also ask for him to be banned from owning an animal or living with one, and ask for him to pay the cost of the cat's autopsy.
Mezquititla was scheduled for sentencing on Thursday, June 13.
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