For immediate release:
Jul 21, 2021
Contact:
Nicole Meyer 202-483-7382
Winston-Salem, North Carolina – Caleb Daniel Devald of Winston-Salem faced 10 animal cruelty charges after PETA provided evidence to authorities – and today the group sent an urgent letter to Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill asking for his vigorous prosecution and if confessed to recommend the longest term of imprisonment to the perpetrators. The group also called for the alleged perpetrator to be consulted if convicted, and to prohibit the possession or harboring of animals.
“Devald is accused of sharing footage of him drowning, stabbing, breaking and setting animals on fire,” says PETA senior vice president Daphne Nachminovich. “If he is found guilty, PETA wants him to stay away from the streets and animals as long as possible, because research shows that such mindlessly violent people pose a future danger to the entire community.”
PETA, whose motto is in part that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way,” is opposed to arrogance, a worldview focused on human superiority. For more information please visit PETA.org or subscribe to the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram…
PETA letter to O’Neill follows.
Jul 21, 2021
The Honorable Jim O’Neill
Forsyth County District Attorney
Dear Mr. O’Neill:
Cheering People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). This letter concerns an alarming case of animal cruelty that your office deals with, involving 19-year-old Caleb Daniel Devald of Winston-Salem, who is facing 10 animal cruelty charges based on several videos depicting animal torture that appear to have been recorded in the past few years. In videos PETA received from an anonymous applicant, it is seen that the abuser commits sadistic and lecherous acts, including drowning a possum and a squirrel, repeatedly stabbing a rat with a knife, spraying the squirrel with an accelerator and setting the animal on fire, and wrapping another squirrel. tape, placing the animal in a plastic bag and breaking it with a stone. Devald was initially charged with four serious crimes related to the videos, but additional evidence provided by PETA led to a second search of his home, which uncovered content that led to the filing of an additional six atrocity charges.
As you know, animal abuse is considered a red flag by mental health professionals and law enforcement officials. The American Psychiatric Association defines cruelty to animals as one of the diagnostic criteria for conduct disorder, and the FBI uses reports of such crimes to analyze the potential threat of alleged and known criminals and categorizes cruelty to animals in its national felony crime database. , along with arson and crime. murder. Indeed, many serial killers and school shooters share a history of animal cruelty – the link between animal cruelty and interpersonal abuse is undeniable. For the safety of the community, it is important that these types of crimes are dealt with decisively and consistently.
If a conviction is upheld, we respectfully ask your office to recommend the maximum length of jail time. Mandatory psychological counseling may also be recommended for sentencing. Most importantly, if a conviction is received and given the high recurrence rate of animal cruelty, we request that the sentence be banned from the possession or harboring of animals for as long as possible (a common provision in such cases).
Thank you for your time, attention and attention to this extremely disturbing occasion.
Sincerely,
Christine Rickman
Head of Emergency Response Department
Abuse Investigation Department