The former director of a local Humane Society in Ohio has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison after promising pet owners and rescue groups to rehabilitate dogs or find them new homes for a fee, but instead keeping the proceeds for personal use and euthanizing the animals without permission.

Steffen Baldwin, 44, former humane agent and executive director at the Union County Humane Society, was sentenced Friday to 15½ years in prison by Union County Common Pleas Court Judge Daniel Hogan after being found guilty on 32 counts, including animal cruelty, bribery, theft and other charges in a January 2024 bench trial, according to court records.

Sounds a bit too much for killing dogs nobody wanted. Kinda scary IMO.

jk, is this just recently? I remember hearing something similar to this a few years back??

Thanks

Did you miss the theft part?

A breakdown of sentence per charge might be enlightening.

Yeah, sounds like he defrauded and thefted their money....sounds fitting to me.

I'd be interested in knowing if he was a member of PETA.

Here's the breakdown of his guilty charges:

He was found guilty of one count of bribery, 12 counts of telecommunications fraud, four counts of tampering with records, 11 counts of cruelty to animals, three counts of grand theft, including a firearm, and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.

Still looking for a sentence per charge breakdown.

Rescue dog and cat groups are absolutely insane IMO... so that's where the pressure on this guy probably came from... I agree it's fraud, just sounds like a high sentence seeing how in NYC they don't bother to jail pretty much anyone doing pretty much any crime.

I dont see any difference in an ADC guy relocating a coon in the attic to a stretcher

That seema like quite an assumption without knowing how its broken down. It appears there were 21 charges unrelated to animal cruelty, including fraud, bribery, theft and corruption. If he got 15 years for animal cruely and 1/2 year for all the rest, I would absolutely agree with you. If its the other way around....I think its great.

what are the chances more than 33% get served

that would make 15.5 186 months

33% of that would be 61 months

heck that is shorter than a lot of new car loans now

lots of factors but would not be at all surprised to learn 2.6 years from now they are being released on patrol for another 2.5 years

some background on what actually gets served
https://bjs.ojp.gov/document/tssp16.pdf

Per a news article:

He will not be eligible for release until he has served at least seven years and nine months.

some states have a minimum half , or the minimum sentence or 85% if federal

Telling people he would relocate them and killing them instead is fraud unless he told them his intentions. If I find an abandoned dog, I always give it to a shelter with a no kill policy.

And somehow trappers and hunters are the bad guys...