A Sacramento man was in court today to learn his fate after a jury found him guilty of felony animal cruelty. Robert Edward De Shields was sentenced to 10 years in state prison and told to pay restitution and register as a sex offender.
Dispassionately stated, the basic fact is that Deshields was convicted by a jury of one count of felony animal cruelty and one related misdemeanor. But the details, consequences and emotional response to that fact go far beyond what is written on paper at the courthouse.
Deshields has been in a wheelchair for several years due to a degenerative health problem; however his history over the past 20 years in Sacramento is littered with crimes due to his equally deteriorated, or perhaps chronically ignored, sense of right and wrong.
The disturbing details of the current case are these. Deshields partially strangled and then anally raped a young, 5-pound Chihuahua dog named Shadow.
Deshields was renting a room in the garage of a local family that included two dogs and four children. One of the family members alerted authorities after finding Shadow with Deshields, unmoving and in shock and obvious pain.
Witnesses say that he had previously been observed with one of the family dogs under the bed covers between his legs and also sitting naked with a dog in his lap.
Shadow suffered severe injuries to his rectum and internal organs which required surgery. While he is physically healed now, the effects of the emotional trauma still remain. He has been in foster care for 9 months and continues to be terrified around most people, particularly men.
The woman fostering Shadow says that he will likely have life-long effects of his treatment by Deshields; she feels that he may not ever “recover from what he suffered”. This is similar to the long-term impact on children and adults who have been raped and violently assaulted.
In this case, Shadow only survived his physical injuries due to the swift actions of Sacramento Animal Control and the VCA Sacramento Veterinarian Referral Center.
Deshields’ defense attorney Jennifer Stoneburner argued that while animal cruelty was “bad”, he should not be labeled a sex offender or be forced to register as one. She expressed her belief that his actions were motivated only by loneliness; another factor she cited in the argument against sex offender registration was that the dog had not died as a result of the rape and choking.
Animal rescuers observing in the courtroom visibly reacted to the supposition that a sexual predator should only be counted as such if the victim dies, and that loneliness is a sufficient reason to accept aberrant, violent behavior.
A report from defense-hired psychologist Dr. Jeffrey E. Miller included many strongly negative statements, including that Deshields has “schizoid and antisocial personality traits” and is likely to always behave in an “irresponsible and sociopathic manner”.
That his attorney used this report in his defense – probably because of the few less derogatory statements included in it – is perhaps a clue to how little she had to back up her claims that he deserved more sympathy and less sentencing.
In the end Superior Court Judge Tadd Blizzard sentenced Deshields much more strongly than Stoneburner had wished.
The maximum sentence for the charge of animal cruelty is three years in prison, but Judge Blizzard added on one year for each of Deshields’ seven prior felony convictions for a total of ten years. Deshields will get a credit of 404 days for time already served while awaiting this trial and sentencing, and for “good work time”.
He will have to register as a sex offender wherever he goes and will have to wear a court-ordered GPS unit for the rest of his life.
Deshields must pay $2,000.00 restitution to the Sacramento County Animal Shelter’s nonprofit affiliate TEAM (Teaching Everyone Animals Matters) for the surgery performed on Shadow; additional monies must be paid to the County shelter itself for Shadow’s subsequent care and to the County jail and court for various legal costs.
Among the County volunteers and staff present at the sentencing was Paula Shimnoski, an 11-year veteran of the County animal shelter’s volunteer program.
“This feels so good” said Shimnoski, echoing the sentiments of other observers who had dared to hope for such a strong sentence.
Comments from this reporter – As an animal rescue volunteer and journalist covering family and animal issues, I hear all too often about people treating children, adults and animals in cruel and inhumane ways. I believe that as a society we begin to feel less connected to these crimes as the number of reports of such violence escalates; in order to emotionally survive we must become a bit less reactive to them.
Occasionally however, a situation is so perverse that it reaches in to sicken and outrage even the numbest of hearts. Robert Deshields’ actions towards a small, defenseless dog is one such disturbing example of this.
Those of us observing at the sentencing broke into weary smiles and silent applause as Deshields was taken away to prison in handcuffs. The ruling by this fair-minded judge was a welcome gift, as were the exhaustive efforts of Deputy District Attorney Hilary Bagley-Franzoia. Sacramento County Animal Control Officer Rueben Hernandez is to be commended for his tireless work seeing this case from start to finish.
While there will likely continue to be disturbed individuals who commit crimes against the small and the helpless, we in this small corner of Sacramento are very grateful to have so many talented, motivated people working on the “side of the angels”.
I welcome your comments and responses to this case.
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