PORTLAND, Maine — Two Maine teenagers have been sentenced to 100 hours of community service each after pleading guilty to animal cruelty charges alleging they put an 8-week-old kitten in a microwave and turned it on.
The South Portland girls, who were 15 when they were charged last September, initially entered the juvenile equivalent of an adult not guilty plea in May and were ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation.
The girls' lawyer said they had no intention of harming the kitten, which was in the microwave for just a few seconds and has since been adopted. But a video of the prank of showed up on social media, provoking outrage.
Tamara Getchell, a spokeswoman for the Cumberland County District Attorney's office, tells WMTW-TV the teens pleaded guilty on July 21.