Sept. 29, 2008 — The Virgin Islands' first animal-cruelty case, initially scheduled for trial Monday, has been postponed until 2009, leaving animal-rights advocates shocked.
More than three years after legislation was passed making animal cruelty a felony, prosecutors last week postponed the first court case without giving a definite new date. The delay happened because prosecutor Melissa Moroney was out on sick leave, said Tonya Saafir of the St. Croix Office of the Attorney General. The case will be rescheduled in the next couple of weeks, she said Friday.
The attorney general's office wants Moroney to continue on the case, Saafir said Monday.
Moises Carmona, St. Croix Animal Welfare warden, was almost speechless when he heard of the new postponement — but said he was not surprised.
"I just think they really aren't interested in this case," he said Monday. "I've been pushing for more than two years now, working with Melissa Moroney since September 2006."
Carmona was told Saafir would replace Moroney as prosecutor.
"When I finally heard Miss Moroney was in an accident, they told me Tonya Saafir was assigned to the case," he said. "I made an appointment with her … so she could talk to the witness, but she didn't show up. It's crazy. They just don't seem to care. It's like when cruelty was a misdemeanor and we would hold evidence for years."
Saafir said Monday that she is not handling the case.
Dr. Stacia Boswell, AWC director and staff veterinarian, was also distressed.
"We are very disappointed and concerned that, once again, other priorities have taken precedence," she said. "People say, 'It's just a dog.' Well, it's just a law. Why have a law if you don't enforce it? And it's not 'just a dog.' It's a proven fact that people who abuse animals frequently grow up to abuse people. Most mass murderers have a history of animal abuse as a child."
The trial delay will have a negative impact on an upcoming conference, according to Boswell.
"We are on the cusp of an animal-abuse conference in October, the Silent Witness conference," she said. "It's aimed at law enforcement, government officials, not-for-profits with an anti-violence mission. We have guest speakers from the American Humane Association. We were so excited, because we thought we could highlight the conference with our first animal-cruelty trial with Max. He could even be there."
Max, a mixed-breed dog, was the victim in the long-delayed case. About three years ago he was found tied to a tree, brutally beaten and blinded.
"Max was a patient of mine, and two years later, when I joined the AWC staff, everybody wanted so badly for this particular dog to have justice," Boswell said. "He was beaten with a stick with a nail in, which gouged out an eye, crushed his skull and fractured his legs."
Max survived under the care of AWC and was adopted into a loving home.
"We have an eyewitness who will testify," Boswell said. "We have all the evidence. We have the stick. The local police have been helpful, but it's out of their hands now. What kind of a message does this send to the community about the weight of this law if it's not enforced?"
People seeking justice for Max feel they're getting short shrift from prosecutors, she said.
"That's where the big frustration comes in," Boswell said. "The public looks to us. We're not a law-enforcement agency. We diligently do our part in helping out with investigations, and cooperate with all the law-enforcement agencies, and we continue to get brushed aside. This case for Max has been going on for two years."
Animal advocates territory-wide are following the case. Joe Aubain, president of the St. Thomas Humane Society, said he was "thrilled" upon first hearing the news of the trial, calling it "historical."
"We'd had so much hope of finally getting something resolved after so many years of waiting," he said Monday. "It doesn't make sense."
Reached Monday afternoon, Attorney General Vincent Frazer said that he wasn't familiar with the case, and suggested calling Charlotte Poole-Davis, deputy attorney general on St. Croix. Poole-Davis didn't return the call.
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