DEDHAM — Convicted animal abuser Radoslaw Czerkawski was given one of the toughest-ever sentences for animal-cruelty crimes, but as dozens of activists filtered out of the courtroom Tuesday, many said the sentence isn't harsh enough.
Norfolk County Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone sentenced Czerkawski to 8 to 10 years in prison, plus two years of probation, after his conviction Monday on 12 counts of animal cruelty. He was acquitted of one count of lying to police.
He will begin serving that sentence after he finishes serving 6 to 12 years for a larceny conviction.
"I think it's a start, but it should have been harsher," said Deanna Terminiello, who was so inspired by Puppy Doe's story that she founded the PAWSitively Puppy Doe organization and lobbied for harsher animal-cruelty laws. "We were all hoping for the maximum."
State sentencing guidelines called for jail time of zero to 18 months. Calling the case an "unprecedented" example of animal cruelty, Assistant District Attorney Tracey Cusick asked for 12 to 15 years.
“We felt that a substantial period of incarceration was warranted in light of the terrible nature of the abuse, the evidence that the abuse was ongoing for a significant period of time and the kind of injuries discovered in the investigation,” Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey said in a statement after the sentencing. “The evidence of injury in this case was shocking.”
Czerkawski's lawyer Larry Tipton had asked for a 4½- to 5-year sentence.
The case began on Aug. 31, 2013, when a couple found a bloodied and starved pit bull puppy abandoned and unable to move in the middle of a street in Quincy's Hospital Hill neighborhood. The dog was euthanized that same day after an emergency veterinarian determined her injuries were too severe for her to be able to recover.
The dog had five skull fractures, seven blunt-force spinal injuries, broken ribs, a bruised lung, a broken femur, a dislocated shoulder, cuts on her eyes and a split tongue.
A months-long investigation by Quincy police, the Animal Rescue League of Boston and the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office led investigators to Czerkawski, who lived a half-mile from where the dog was discovered. He was a live-in caretaker for a 95-year-old woman with dementia.
Czerkawski, a 36-year-old Polish national, bought the dog on Craigslist on June 8, 2013, and for the next 86 days, he starved, beat and neglected the 1- to 2-year-old puppy, prosecutors said during the eight-day trial.
The case of the tortured pit bull puppy, named Kiya by her former owners but called "Puppy Doe" in the media, captured the hearts of activists around the globe. Her story led to a change in Massachusetts law that gives stricter penalties to people convicted of animal cruelty, with the maximum sentence raised from five to seven years for such crimes.
"It's interesting that Puppy Doe doesn't get to benefit from her own legacy," Lt. Alan Borgal, director of law enforcement at the Animal Rescue League of Boston, said from the steps of the courthouse minutes after the sentence was handed down.
Borgal called the case the worst instance of animal cruelty he has seen in his career.
Outside the courthouse after the sentencing, activists who have followed the case and attended hearings and trial dates had a range of emotions.
"It's a sad day when we remember why we are here and relive the suffering of Puppy Doe," said Hildey Martus of Belmont, was attended many court dates in her quest to get justice for Puppy Doe. "This case touched so many, and though the sentence isn't strong enough, it still set a precedent, and she did not die in vain."
Needham resident Lisa Pyrcz agreed.
"It's better than nothing, but I'm very disappointed," she said. "It's been a long haul, so it's a relief in a lot of ways, but I don't think the time he's going to serve equates the crime."
Czerkawski's sentence in the Puppy Doe case will begin when he finishes the 6 to 12 years he is serving for stealing from the Quincy woman he served as a caregiver, and for stealing from a church in New Bedford. That sentence ends in 2021. If he hadn't been convicted on the animal-cruelty charges, he could have been paroled as early as next spring.
Reporter Trea Lavery contributed to this report. Reach Erin Tiernan at etiernan@ledger.com. Follow her on Twitter @Erin Tiernan.
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