Make wishtv.com your home page

Crawfordsville man gets probation for tying, burning cat

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — A Crawfordsville man will spend two years on probation after he pleaded guilty to tying up a cat and setting it on fire.

Noah Riley, who was 19 when initially charged in January, pleaded guilty to cruelty to an animal and was sentenced Friday.

On Jan. 11, police responded to Montgomery County Road 500 South in New Market, south of Crawfordsville, on a report of a cat that had been hogtied, covered in gasoline and set on fire with an M-80 firework attached to it. Riley turned himself in to the County Sheriff’s Office the next day and admitted his role in the case. He told deputies he wanted to resolve the issue and cited social media as making him feel guilty.

According to court documents, Riley and his juvenile girlfriend had the mutual idea to hurt the animal because both said they don’t like cats. They had received the cat the same night as a gift from a friend after a church study group.

Charging documents said Riley told police he thought it would be funny to set the cat on fire. The girlfriend admitted to police at the time they took possession of the cat, it was their intentions to kill it. The cat died from its injuries five days later.

Crime Map
Use Search Bars Above To Search Crime Data