By Tom Momberg
Police last week charged a 29-year-old Bay Terrace man with throwing a neglected miniature Dachshund down the trash chute of his 17th-floor apartment May 14.
The police said they followed up on complaints and identified the dog’s owner as Michael Hutchinson of Bay Club Drive, who was convicted in 2007 of drugging and raping a 15-year-old girl in New Jersey the year before.
In their investigation, police also found that Hutchinson had allegedly caused the death of a domestic cat in a separate incident a week later, according to the NYPD.
Detectives from NYPD’s Animal Cruelty Investigation Squad arrested Hutchinson May 28, charging him with two counts of torturing an animal, and one count of disabled animal abandonment, police said.
Hutchinson was only issued an appearance ticket on what are misdemeanor offenses, according to New York’s penal law about the treatment of animals. His court date was not schedued yet.
The female Dachshund survived and was being treated at the 92nd Street facility of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to animals. It was renamed Belle, an ASPCA spokeswomansaid. ASPCA said it was too soon to discuss adoption for her.
“Tossing an animal away like garbage is an unthinkable act,” said Howard Lawrence, senior director of the ASPCA Anti-Cruelty Group. “We commend the NYPD for their swift action in this case and encourage all New Yorkers to always report suspected animal cruelty to 311 or call 911 for crimes in progress.”
The ASPCA said it could not comment further on the Hutchinson case because of the ongoing investigation.
Hutchinson, a personal trainer, spent a year in jail and four years on probation for his sex offense, for which he used a chemical agent to sedate his victim, according to state court records.
Reach reporter Tom Momberg by e-mail at tmomb
