A Florida veterinarian has been sentenced to nearly 22 years behind bars for recording himself sexually abusing dogs and collecting child pornography.
Prentiss Madden was handed a 272-month jail term Friday after pleading guilty in July to animal cruelty and child pornography charges, the US Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida said in a release.
Prosecutors said the 40-year-old made videos of himself engaging in sexual activity with dogs and shared them with other sickos in online chats.
Madden also stored “thousands” of child pornography images in a Dropbox account, receiving the horrifying photos and videos in internet chats in which he discussed sexually abusing children.
Madden had served as medical director of Caring Hands Animal Hospital in Aventura, near Miami, but was fired from the role when colleagues learned he was under investigation.
He was arrested in March after Homeland Security agents raided his home on February 24 and found files in which Madden discussed “the sexual abuse of animals and children,” as well as multiple photos and videos depicting bestiality, according to court documents.
During his sentencing, Madden apologized to his family and victims, saying that he had suffered sexual abuse as a child and witnessed his mother get severely beaten by his stepfather, the Miami Herald reported.
“This is never who I planned to be or thought I would be,” he said. “It does not represent who I am as a person.”