Man Faces Charges For Beating Cat

By Sam Borcia Lake & McHenry County Scanner

A Round Lake Park man was arrested after he allegedly beat a cat and left it with “part of its face missing” while multiple children were present in the home, prosecutors said.

Rolando Gonzalez, 35, of Round Lake Park, was charged with one count of aggravated cruelty to animals and one count of animal torture.

Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Emma Smoler said during a bond hearing this week that the Round Lake Park Police Department responded to a call from the Grayslake Animal Hospital.

The veterinary hospital reported that a cat had been brought in that was severely beaten.

The nature of the injuries was consistent with abuse.

Smoler said the cat had severe trauma to its head and it had been repeatedly beaten with a blunt force object, most likely a fist.

Officers spoke to Gonzalez’s wife, who said the cat was in their house while she was getting the kids ready for school in the morning.

She heard Gonzalez yelling and screaming at the cat in another room and also heard some “thuds and thumping,” Smoler said.

The woman left the home around 8 a.m. and came home around 3 p.m. to find the cat, which was missing part of its face.

The woman rushed the cat to the animal hospital for treatment.

Smoler said the cat had been locked away for the entire day in extreme pain without treatment.

Smoler asked for a $100,000 bond due to Gonzalez’s “extreme cruelty.”

Lake County Judge James Simonian ordered Gonzalez held on a $75,000 bond.

Gonzalez remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on Wednesday.

Lake and McHenry County Scanner is a local breaking news website covering issues that matter such as shootings, stabbings, house fires, kidnappings, car accidents, and more around Lake County and McHenry County.