DARLINGTON - A Monroe man was prohibited Wednesday from owning any horses for 18 months after the Lafayette County Sheriff's Depart ment seized 12 of his horses in February due to neglect.
Sean C. Legault, 56, appeared in Lafayette County Circuit Court for nine forfeiture counts of failing to provide sufficient food for animals and one unclassified misdemeanor count of failing to dispose of an animal carcass in a timely manner. Legault was found guilty on all ten counts and is barred from possessing equine animals for 18 months.
When Legault failed to appear at an Aug. 20 court appearance, Judge Thomas Vale entered a default judgment ordering a fine of $3,505.50. The fine was recalled Wednesday. The maximum penalty for the charges come in the form of fines with no jail time, but penalties were modified as a plea agreement between defense and prosecution to ensure that Legault could not care for horses in the near future.
Court records indicate Legault was accused of animal neglect by a neighbor in mid-January and deputies found the remains of a dead horse on Legault's property located in the Town of Wiota. He was subsequently arrested for not disposing of the carcass. Legault was released from jail shortly after but remained monitored, and it was later found the horses were receiving inadequate feed. All 12 horses were then seized by the sheriff's department Feb. 20.
District Attorney Katherine Findley said she periodically visited the farm the horses were taken to after they were first seized on Feb. 20 and saw definite progress from their emaciated condition while under Legault's care to when the horses were adopted.
"The difference in condition was striking and that is quite an understatement," Findley said.
Legault's attorney Tara Kleinhans said the 18-month period barring Legault from owning horses is an appropriate punishment as he has faced financial troubles in the past that prevented him from feeding and caring for his horses.
"A simple imposition of fines would do nothing in the interest of the public to ensure that this will not happen again," Kleinhans said.
Vale said he was unsure why a person who appeared to like animals could treat them the way Legault did, and assumed it had more to do with poverty than genuine animosity.
"If you can't pay for food or regular vet' visits, as a responsible owner, you don't buy them (horses) in the first place," Vale said.
Of the 12 horses taken by the sheriff's department and housed on land rented from a citizen, one horse succumbed to the neglect it faced and died. Two foals were born and the remaining 13 horses were adopted.
Sean C. Legault, 56, appeared in Lafayette County Circuit Court for nine forfeiture counts of failing to provide sufficient food for animals and one unclassified misdemeanor count of failing to dispose of an animal carcass in a timely manner. Legault was found guilty on all ten counts and is barred from possessing equine animals for 18 months.
When Legault failed to appear at an Aug. 20 court appearance, Judge Thomas Vale entered a default judgment ordering a fine of $3,505.50. The fine was recalled Wednesday. The maximum penalty for the charges come in the form of fines with no jail time, but penalties were modified as a plea agreement between defense and prosecution to ensure that Legault could not care for horses in the near future.
Court records indicate Legault was accused of animal neglect by a neighbor in mid-January and deputies found the remains of a dead horse on Legault's property located in the Town of Wiota. He was subsequently arrested for not disposing of the carcass. Legault was released from jail shortly after but remained monitored, and it was later found the horses were receiving inadequate feed. All 12 horses were then seized by the sheriff's department Feb. 20.
District Attorney Katherine Findley said she periodically visited the farm the horses were taken to after they were first seized on Feb. 20 and saw definite progress from their emaciated condition while under Legault's care to when the horses were adopted.
"The difference in condition was striking and that is quite an understatement," Findley said.
Legault's attorney Tara Kleinhans said the 18-month period barring Legault from owning horses is an appropriate punishment as he has faced financial troubles in the past that prevented him from feeding and caring for his horses.
"A simple imposition of fines would do nothing in the interest of the public to ensure that this will not happen again," Kleinhans said.
Vale said he was unsure why a person who appeared to like animals could treat them the way Legault did, and assumed it had more to do with poverty than genuine animosity.
"If you can't pay for food or regular vet' visits, as a responsible owner, you don't buy them (horses) in the first place," Vale said.
Of the 12 horses taken by the sheriff's department and housed on land rented from a citizen, one horse succumbed to the neglect it faced and died. Two foals were born and the remaining 13 horses were adopted.