Owner of Monroe-Based Animal Shelter Sentenced in Animal Cruelty Case

MONROE, CT — The owner of the Monroe-based SPCA of Connecticut was sentenced to one year in jail on Tuesday and convicted of 11 counts of animal cruelty, according to The Monroe Courier. Fred Acker was represented by Igor Kuperman who said that Acker recognizes he “made poor choices” and is sorry for his bad decisions but that he should still be able to interact with animals, the report stated.

Judge Markle said Acker relinquished his right to work with animals after being convicted of multiple counts of animal cruelty and that as part of his three-year probation, he is not allowed to care for, control or adopt animals.

A petition on Change.org earlier called for state agencies to revoke the license and close the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Connecticut (SPCACT) in Monroe which was run by Fred Acker, the embattled president of the SPCACT.

Acker was arrested for breach of peace in 2005 in relation to a December 2004 incident at the SPCACT and pleaded ‘no contest’ to the charges. He received a 6 month suspended sentence.(Acker filed a countersuit against two Monroe officers, alleging wrongful and malicious arrest.)

“This is a horrible breach of trust,” Murphy wrote on the petition. “It is important that these animals have a voice and this individual needs to be held accountable and the abuse stopped.”Murphy’s petition includes a letter to State Animal Control Supervisor Ray Connors requesting that his office “revoke any business licenses in [Acker’s] name and to remove any dogs, or cats in his possession or at the site in Monroe,” and further asks that he be punished “to the greatest extent of the law.”Connors was not immediately available for comment.

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