A former animal rescue director has been sentenced to over 15 years in prison for animal cruelty.
USA Today reports that Steffen Baldwin, who was the director of the Union County Humane Society in Ohio, was found guilty on 32 counts, including animal cruelty, bribery, theft and other charges.
According to the charges against him, Baldwin charged pet owners and other rescue groups a fee, promising to rehabilitate dogs or find them new homes. Baldwin would then keep the money and euthanize the animals without permission.
According to USA Today, Baldwin would present himself as having a 99% success rate finding homes for dogs who were aggressive or had behavioral issues.
But in several cases, Baldwin would instead have the dogs euthanized. He then lied to the owners or rescue groups, telling them that the dogs were alive and being well cared-for, and in some cases maintained those lies for months.
Baldwin was arrested in August 2020 and charged with 42 felony counts, relating to the deaths of at least 18 dogs.
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