A Shelton man accused of assaulting a horse received accelerated rehabilitation Thursday, a special form of probation that will allow his criminal record to be cleared after two years if he does not get into trouble again.
“Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart,” said 64-year-old Marian Wegiel, who apologized in front of Judge Burton Kaplan in Superior Court in Derby.
Wegiel told Kaplan he will never touch a drop of alcohol again, which his defense attorney indicated was an underlying factor in the aberrant behavior.
“There will never be problems again,” Wegiel said.
Wegiel, of Partridge Lane, was arrested in October, after a neighbor said she saw him sexually assault the family’s horse.
Wegiel is alleged to have put his hand inside the horse’s rear end.
Shelton police initially charged him with fourth-degree sexual assault, cruelty to animals, third-degree criminal trespass and second-degree breach of peace.
As part of his sentence, Wegiel must continue his psychological sessions until successfully discharged. He must have no contact with the victims, stay away from the victim’s property, have no unsupervised contact with animals and complete 50 hours of community service in a year.
“I am sorry, so sorry,” Wegiel said.
Wegiel’s neighbors, the Flannerys — Joan and daughter Alison — were upset with the judge’s decision.
“I’m not happy, the man should go to jail,” Joan Flannery said outside court.
Alison Flannery submitted a letter to the court saying that giving Wegiel probation sends a signal that it is OK to abuse animals.
Animal rights activist Priscilla Feral of Friends of Animals, based in Darien, was also upset that Wegiel’s crime would not result in a tougher penalty.
Feral was angry that Wegiel’s attorney portrayed his client as someone who was drunk when the assault happened. Feral said the alcohol shouldn’t be used as an excuse — and that the act was that of a deranged person.
“I’m disgusted,” she said.
Accelerated rehabilitation is meant for non-violent, first-time offenders.
