An alleged diaper fetishist bought a rabbit from a pet store then horrifically mutilated as he drove away, police said.
Patryk Sochocki, 25, cut off the rabbit’s back legs, tail and genitalia in his car as he drove on Route 32 in Willington, Connecticut, less than 20 minutes after purchasing the animal on October 11, according to police.
Sochocki then tossed the rabbit’s bloodied body in his backseat and continued to drive, but was pulled over by state police who witnessed him swerving and drastically changing speeds.
A trooper approached Sochocki’s vehicle and noticed white fur on Sochocki’s sweatshirt, bloodied scissors covered in fur, a bloodstained box in the front seat – and a severely injured white, black and brown rabbit in the backseat that looked like it had been ‘tortured.’
Sochocki reportedly told the Trooper that he planned to feed the rabbit to wild birds in East Hartford.
The trooper also found a backpack in Sochocki’s vehicle that contained diapers. When asked about the diapers, Sochocki told the trooper that he liked to wear them, according to the Journal Inquirer.
A search of the car also revealed empty beer bottles and a glass marijuana pipe. The trooper reported that the car smelled like marijuana and said Sochocki’s eyes were bloodshot.
Willington Animal Control Officer Tina Binheimer was called to the scene to recover the rabbit, which was taken to Bolton Veterinary Hospital, where it had to be euthanized.
Sochocki was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals, as well as use of drug paraphernalia, operating a motor vehicle under the influence and failure to drive in the proper lane.
Prosecutors later upgraded the misdemeanor animal cruelty charge to first-degree wounding/killing of an animal, which is punishable by up to five years in prison.
He appeared in Rockville Superior Court on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to the charges. Sochocki was seen hanging his head, avoiding eye contact with the judge in the courtroom, which was filled with advocates from Desmond’s Army, an animal law advocacy group.
Robin Zillacannamela, President of Desmond’s Army, said: ‘It’s premeditated and could not even wait to get somewhere stationary, but started dismembering it in the vehicle as he was driving.’
Sochocki was freed on a $5,000 nonsurety bond and was sent to Rockville General Hospital for a mental health exam after he was charged.
He is due back in court on January 7.
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