SENATOR ANDREW DIMITRI

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As a lawyer who does prosecutorial work for a couple of communities, state Senator Andrew Dimitri says that the some of the most disturbing cases he sees involve animal abuse.

He says it always bothered him that some of the sentencing parameters did not allow him to seek punishments that he felt fit the crime.

The Senate recently voted to approve legislation Dimitri introduced to increase penalties for animal neglect and abuse, and a companion bill is pending in the House. A Democrat, he represents Senate District 25 in Johnston.

“Anybody who has pets knows that they are part of the family, which is why during my work as both a defense lawyer and municipal prosecutor, I was shocked that animal abuse cases are treated and prosecuted more leniently than other misdemeanors,” Dimitri said in a press release.

The bill increases the penalties for animal abuse and neglect from 11 months to 365 days, making it consistent with other misdemeanor offenses in Rhode Island.

It also increases maximum imprisonment time for persons convicted of more than one offense involving dog fighting. The maximum penalty for the first offense remains two years, but Dimitri’s bill increases the maximum penalty for subsequent offenses to up to five years in prison. It also adds mandatory community service of 20 hours for a first offense and 50 hours for any subsequent offense.

In an interview, Dimitri, who was elected last year, said he grew up with dogs, and they were beloved pets. In addition to his private practice as a lawyer, he does prosecutorial work for Johnston and Burrillville. He said he has to handle a wide variety of cases, and while many are disturbing, he felt that legislative changes were needed to increase penalties in animal abuse cases – particularly those involving dog fighting.