25th July 2006

Teenager Locked Up After Cat Is Hurled Four Times From Fifth Floor Balcony

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A callous 18-year-old who admitted his part in hurling a cat off a 60-foot-high balcony was sent to a young offenders institution for four months and banned from owning an animal for five years.

Christopher Lees was among a gang of teenagers who dropped Khalo the cat from the fifth floor balcony onto concrete, each time going downstairs to fetch the cat before repeating the attack. On the shocking video footage, Lees could be heard commentating on the cat's ordeal.

Khalo was so severely injured that he had to be put to sleep to end his suffering.

Lees from Wilsford Close, Birmingham, previously pleaded guilty at Birmingham Magistrates Court to cruelly ill-treating and terrifying a cat.

Sentencing today, chair of the bench Richard Trengrouse said, "The offence is so severe that only a custodial sentence can be justified. The cat was hurled from a fifth floor balcony and there was untold fear and harm to the animal. You were not satisfied with this - you videoed and commentated on it. Your comments in the video were callous and you showed no compassion or decency."

Mr Trengrouse said that as the oldest member of the group, Lees should have acted to prevent the cruelty.

He also gave special thanks to RSPCA officer Rob Hartley who investigated the case. Mr Trengrouse said, "We want to thank the RSPCA officer in the case because he worked to public good and to the benefit of society."

After sentence RSPCA inspector Rob Hartley said, "The magistrates were as appalled as we are by this horrendous act of cruelty inflicted on a living creature. The fact that Lees filmed the cruelty is even more disturbing. The sentence passed reflects the seriousness of the crime and gives out a clear message that this type of deliberate, premeditated cruelty will not be tolerated."

The gang was caught after the footage was sent to friends, and one reported them to the police, who contacted the RSPCA. The gang was identified following appeals in the local media. Until then, Khalo's owner, Simone Warmington, 26, had assumed her severely injured ginger cat had been hit by a car. She had taken Khalo to a vet who put him down because he had brain damage.

In a statement Simone said, "This has been very distressing for me but I am pleased the magistrates took it seriously. I would like to thank the RSPCA and the police for their investigation. Without their intervention I would never have known the truth about Khalo's death.

"I was devastated. He was a beautiful and loving cat. At the time I believed he had been hit by a car. He was brain damaged on arrival to the vet and it was evident he was in a great deal of pain and stress. He had lots of blood coming from his mouth and had to be put to sleep.

"I later found out from the RSPCA the truth about Khalo's death. It left me feeling very distraught and sickened by the torture and level of cruelty that was inflicted on my one-year-old cat, which resulted in his death. This inhumane act was despicable."

Three youths - who cannot be named for legal reasons - who were also involved will appear at Birmingham Youth Court on 1 August to be sentenced. Two have admitted causing cruelty and a third has admitted aiding and abetting the offence.

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