A Sunderland man has been sentenced for causing unnecessary suffering to a herring gull by performing a sex act on it.
David Lee, 40, of Roker Avenue, Sunderland, admitted causing unnecessary suffering to the bird when he appeared at South Tyneside Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, 25th April 2023.
He was back at the same court for sentencing today, Wednesday, 21st June 2023.
Lesley Burgess, prosecuting on this occasion, outlined the circumstances of the offence. You can read more about those in our previous article.
Annalisa Moscardi, mitigating, told the court that "alcohol is quite heavily involved" in her client's offence, which he has no recollection of.
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She said that a psychiatrist has diagnosed Lee as having unstable personality disorder.
The psychiatrist also points to Lee's "detachment from reality".
After retiring for quite some length of time the bench returned to announce Lee's sentence.
Angela Thompson, Presiding Justice, said that suffering was caused to the young gull.
She highlighted that Lee's use of alcohol and animal pornography at the time of the offence were aggravating factors.
Lee was sentenced to 24 weeks' immediate custody.
He was also ordered to pay £150 surcharge and £300 towards prosecution costs.
An order was made disqualifying him from keeping animals for a period of 10 years.
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