THERE are crimes of passion, crimes of opportunity, and crimes of sheer depravity.
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Jacob Menz’s crime fits squarely in the latter category.
In an act as cowardly as it was brutal, the 28-year-old Wagga man was this month jailed for torturing the pet dog of his housemate, Jemima Seaman.
What could possess a person to inflict pain on a defenceless animal is a matter best understood by a forensic psychiatrist.
But it is undoubtedly the sign of a deeply troubled mind.
Menz met trusting Staffy-cross Tess when Ms Seaman answered an ad for a housemate and moved into his Central Wagga home.
Ms Seaman grew suspicious when she noticed Tess seemed scared of Menz and often cowered away from him.
Tess transformed from a happy and confident dog to one that was withdrawn and nervous, particularly around Menz.
Menz’s twisted, hidden life was about to unravel.
Ms Seaman set up a surveillance camera in her bedroom and the trap was laid.
The vision showed Menz squeezing the throat of Tess with both hands as he lay on top of her.
Tess’s other injuries – cuts, scabs and having her back claw ripped out – were not captured on camera so could not be pinned on Menz.
Despite the abhorrence of his actions, a magistrate saw fit to imprison him for just three months.
The maximum penalty for the offence is two years.
What that innocent animal and her owner have been subjected to is beyond the pale.
Anyone who has owned a pet knows they have an uncanny knack of getting under your guard and into your heart.
As such, it is incumbent upon the courts to ensure penalties for those that harm animals are commensurate with the pain they inflict upon those animals and their owners.
Most would agree that simply hasn’t happened in this case.
Tess can’t speak for herself but Ms Seaman can speak for her.
She wants justice and she wants her old dog back.
Her only other hope now is that Menz doesn’t move back to Wagga when he’s released from prison.
And the rest of Wagga wholeheartedly agrees with her.