A father in Florida, David Charette Jr., has been arrested for allegedly committing acts of animal cruelty involving the family’s kittens in front of his teenage daughter, authorities reported.
According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a residence in Pine Manor after receiving an alert about a man trying to drown and harm a two-month-old kitten named Luna.
Charette, aged 48, now faces charges of aggravated animal cruelty, with accusations of killing two kittens and injuring another. Witnesses claimed Charette used this abuse as a form of punishment for his daughter when she misbehaved.
“Deeply disturbing,”
is how authorities described the operation, with bodycam footage showing Charette talking to deputies outside his Pine Manor home. He claimed the kitten was in good condition and that he had washed Luna after it soiled itself in the cage.
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno expressed his horror over the situation, especially involving Charette’s daughter, describing it as particularly troubling. “Sickening to me,” is how Marceno commented on the daughter’s claims of animal abuse as punishment.
Investigators discovered Charette allegedly killed two additional kittens over the past year. In June, he reportedly smothered a one-month-old kitten with a bleach-soaked rag. In another case, authorities said he killed a three-month-old kitten using a blow-dryer.
Officials reported that both kittens were buried in the backyard, but during the investigation, they only located one. Deputies have stated that Luna was taken to a nearby animal hospital and is recovering from the alleged abuse.