20-Year-Old Man Pleads Guilty to Performing Sexual Act on Neighbor’s Cat on Senja Road

A 20-year-old man pleaded guilty on 23 May to performing a sexual act on a cat after being caught on CCTV footage. The incident occurred in April 2023 when he was 18 years old.

The accused also admitted to assaulting and harassing a 19-year-old classmate with mild intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder.

He cannot be named due to a gag order protecting the bullying victim’s identity.

CCTV Footage Captures Sexual Act on Neighbour’s Cat

The incident took place at around 1.50am on 8 April 2023 outside a block of flats on Senja Road. The accused lived in the same building as the cat’s 35-year-old owner, who allowed the animal to roam freely outside his home.

The youth saw the cat in a public area and decided to play with it. He patted the animal and fed it cat food he found on a shelf outside the flat.

At approximately 1.52am, while the cat was eating, the accused became sexually aroused. He looked around to check for people nearby before lowering his shorts and performing an obscene act on the cat.

The cat moved away, but the accused followed it and picked it up. He then humped the cat before it jumped out of his grasp and scuttled away.

The accused continued pursuing the animal and held its tail, but the cat squirmed free.

A nearby CCTV camera recorded the entire incident. The cat’s owner discovered what happened when a neighbour showed him the footage.

Feeling annoyed and wanting to identify the perpetrator, the owner uploaded the clip to his social media account. The video went viral soon after.

The owner took the cat to a veterinarian, who found that the animal had sustained no physical injuries. However, the cat appeared reluctant to remain outside the flat following the incident.

A member of the public alerted police about the incident on 11 April 2023. Officers arrested the accused the same day.

Pattern of Bullying Against Vulnerable Classmate

The accused and his victim attended the same course in 2022 and had classes together.

The victim has mild intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder.

The accused did not like his classmate and constantly bullied him both physically and online. Due to his larger build, he openly picked on the victim through various means.

His bullying tactics included verbal abuse, threats, tripping the victim in class, hitting him, and demanding money from him.

The victim did not dare to stand up to the accused or report his behaviour. The accused had threatened to hurt him if he informed his parents, teachers, or anyone else about the bullying.

Some coursemates reported instances of the bullying to school authorities. When counselled, the accused would acknowledge his actions and apologise, but the bullying continued.

On 31 March 2022, the accused sent the victim harassing text messages filled with profanity through a chat application.

He repeatedly threatened to “kill” the victim, called him “ugly” and threatened to “whack” him and “break” his face.

The victim did not dare to inform his parents or teachers about the threatening messages.

On 23 November 2022, the accused assaulted his victim while they were in class. He saw the victim resting his head against another coursemate’s bag and became irritated for no apparent reason.

The accused followed the victim to a toilet with the intention of hitting him. Inside the toilet, he asked why the victim had to rest his head against the bag.

When the victim remained silent, the accused became angry and slapped him across the face.

The victim’s father discovered the threatening text messages in 2023 and lodged a police report. The accused was charged in court in 2024.

On 23 May, the accused pleaded guilty to one count each of assault, harassment, and doing an obscene act in a public place. Two counts of theft and a second assault charge will be considered during sentencing.

The court called for reports to assess his suitability for both probation and reformative training.

Probation is a community rehabilitation sentence that does not result in a criminal record, while reformative training involves detention in a centre with a strict regimen including foot drills and counselling.

The accused was remanded and will be sentenced on 11 July.