Maine Teen Girls Sentenced for Putting Kitten in Microwave

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By Karen Harrison Binette

Miracle, the kitten put in a microwave oven by two girls making a Vine video.
Miracle, the kitten put in a microwave oven by two girls making a Vine video, in a 2013 photo.

 

The two Maine teen aged girls who placed an eight week old kitten in a microwave oven and posted a Vine video with the distressed kitten online in 2013 pleaded guilty to the charges against them and were sentenced last month.

The 16 year old South Portland girls were 15 when they were charged with felonies last September. The charges were later lessened to misdemeanor animal cruelty. The two initially entered the juvenile equivalent of an adult not guilty plea in May and were ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation. Their lawyer said they had no intention of harming the kitten.

The pair, whose names have not been publicly released because of their ages,  pleaded guilty to cruelty to animals on July 21 in Cumberland County combined court and were sentenced to 100 hours of community service each, according to Tamara Getchell, spokeswoman for the Cumberland County District Attorney’s office.

South Portland police located the girls and charged them with animal cruelty after receiving several calls about the incident when the video was posted online in 2013.

The Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland gained custody of the kitten after her family agreed to surrender her to South Portland Animal Control. She was given the name Miracle because of what she’d survived.

Miracle was used by the girls in the making of a sickening 6 second Vine video that was posted to Twitter. She is placed in the microwave in the first part of the video. In the second part of the video, after a cut, she is seen going around and then exiting the microwave in distress as the door is opened for her by the second of the two girls.

Miracle was thankfully unharmed by the experience, which could have killed her had she remained in the running microwave for a longer time. Once at the shelter, she was determined to be underweight and loaded with fleas.  She initially struggled to maintain her body temperature and her body had trouble absorbing nutrients. Shelter staff said the 8 week old kitten had probably been taken away from her mother too soon.

Mary Byram of Scarborough was the winner of a lottery to adopt Miracle.  “It was unreal. I just was so excited,” she said about the experience when received the good news.

See our earlier stories:

Teen Girls Charged, Kitten Safe After Microwave Vine Video is Reported to Police

Miracle Update: Maine Microwave Kitten Doing Well and Getting Worldwide Support

Miracle, Kitten from Microwave Video, Has a Home

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1 thought on “Maine Teen Girls Sentenced for Putting Kitten in Microwave”

  1. i cant believe they went so easy on them! this is so sick and what kind of lawyer says could say “Their lawyer said they had no intention of harming the kitten.” what do microwaves do? they cook meat! and I know these girls were so stupid as to think if they put her in a microwave she would be ok..I am sure being stupid little sh*ts they were going for a laugh but I think that they should have some cruelty to animal charges! the better you catch them young the better it is!

  2. These two teenage savages should have been given a stiff prison sentence for cruelty to animals. And their lawyer’s claim that they didn’t intend.to harm the kitten sucks. If they really didn’t want to hurt the kitten, then why did they microwave her?! How ludicrous that is! And, yes, I have a cat. His name is Oliver. A good friend of mine who is a foster mother for cats gave me Oliver two years ago. He has turned out to be a wonderful furry friend. He is so affectionate and playful. Since Oliver came to live with me, life has become so much better. It’s time to really crack down on animal cruelty. Our furry friends need and deserve respect and appreciation.

  3. Neither do I. I think all people, young or old should be punished for such cruelty. They should have been sentenced to jail time. If it were my child I’d insist that he or she should receive severe punishment. A fine is nothing! What kind of sick parents rear such children. They should also be punished for creating an environment in which this sort of sick offense occurs. Perhaps incarcerating the parents might wake them to be better humans, although I doubt it. People who inflict pain on any person or animal are, in my opinion sadists and scum of the earth.

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