Los Angeles - An 18-year-old in Los Angeles has been sentenced to nine months in jail for mutilating a tortoise that belonged to an autistic boy. Jose Antonio Mosqueda, 18, was also sentenced Monday to five years of probation and fined 5,479 dollars.
Ventura County Superior Court Judge Bruce Clark said Mosqueda may not have access to any animals, which means he will have to give up his pet iguana, dog and snake.
Mosqueda pleaded no contest in September to felony animal cruelty after prosecutors said he snatched a 20-kilogram African spurred tortoise named Bob, slashed its legs and neck over 20 times, punctured its shell and threw it against a wall.
The animal belonged to 7-year-old William Sullivan, an autistic child whose first spoken words had been to his pet.
"My little boy is so scared now he fears he will be taken and harmed like the tortoise," his mother told the court prior to sentencing.
After the sentencing, prosecutor Wendy Macfarlane said that Mosqueda could go to prison if he violates the terms of the probation.
"That means if he is caught being around an animal or having access to an animal, then he is going to be in violation of his probation terms, which could subject him to more time," she said, according to the Ventura County Star.
