A Texas man has been sentenced to more than three years in prison after admitting to kicking a cat that was later set on fire, according to court records.
Donaldvan Williams, from Beaumont, was sentenced to 40 months in prison by a U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on Tuesday. Williams had earlier pleaded guilty to animal crushing and aiding and abetting as part of a plea deal.
Williams’ attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to Davilyn Walston, spokesperson for U.S. Attorney Damien Diggs, federal and state prosecutors collaborated to determine whether charges should be pursued at the state or federal level.
“Often, when dealing with particularly egregious offenders, state penalties are less severe,” Walston explained.
Under Texas law, Williams could have faced as little as two years in prison for animal cruelty or torture. However, he was prosecuted under the federal Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act, which outlaws harming animals and the creation or distribution of videos depicting animal cruelty.
Court documents revealed that in October 2021, Williams and another individual, Decorius Mire, found a cat in a parking lot. Williams kicked the cat while Mire recorded the incident on his cell phone, later sharing the video on social media. The indictment further stated that a third, unidentified person set the cat on fire shortly after it was kicked.
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Mire, who also pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in July 2023.
