A Texas man was sentenced Tuesday to more than three years in federal prison for kicking a cat “as if kicking a football field goal” in a case of abuse that was recorded and shared on social media, prosecutors said.
Donaldvan Williams, 30, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas said in a statement.
He pleaded guilty in October to animal crushing and aiding and abetting in connection with the incident in the parking lot of a Beaumont apartment complex on Oct. 15, 2021, according to court records.
The cat was foaming at the mouth and convulsing as if it had been poisoned, according to a statement of factual basis of the crime filed in court following a plea deal.
“Williams did not render or try to procure aid for the cat, but instead kicked the cat as if kicking a football field goal,” prosecutors wrote in a statement that Williams signed.
The cat was propelled through the air around 15 to 20 feet.
The kick was recorded by another man, Decorius Mire, who encouraged Williams to kick the cat, prosecutors said. Mire posted the video to social media.
Mire was sentenced last year to 18 months in prison.
Williams was charged with kicking the cat, but the animal’s torture did not end there.
Someone else, whose identity was not known when the case was presented to a grand jury, poured an accelerant on the cat and set it on fire, the indictment against Williams says. The animal running away on fire was also recorded on video.
Each man’s guilty plea dealt with kicking the cat and recording it, not the animal’s being set on fire, records show.
Court records in the cases do not appear to say whether the cat lived or died.
A federal defender listed as representing Williams did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday evening.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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