WESTFIELD, Mass. (September 19, 2025) — In Defense of Animals is denouncing the sentencing of Alexey Dimoglo, who was charged with animal cruelty for brutally killing a rabbit who belonged to the host of a party he attended last year. 

On September 17, he accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to two years probation instead of up to 14 years imprisonment and a fine of $10,000. 

Alexey Dimoglo and co-defendant Gabriel Nava were taken into custody by the Westfield Police Department in November 2024 after a warrant was issued for their arrests following an incident that took place at a party they crashed earlier that month.

The pair were alleged to have brutally killed Pumpernickle, a rabbit who belonged to the party’s host by grabbing the animal by the ears and slamming their body into the ground before throwing the helpless being off a porch and into a parking lot.

The two men can allegedly be heard on a video laughing and one says, “We just committed a murder.”

More than 15,000 people signed In Defense of Animals’ alert urging District Attorney Anthony Gulluni to seek maximum sentencing for both men. Each was charged with cruelty to an animal and malicious killing of a domestic animal. 

Under Massachusetts law, maliciously killing or injuring a domestic animal is punishable by up to 7 years imprisonment, a minimum fine of $5,000, or both. Cruelty to animals carries the same penalties, plus a prohibition on working with animals.

“Dimoglo’s sentencing is a slap in the face to all those seeking justice for animal victims of cruelty and to hold abusers accountable for the harm they cause to animals, their guardians and their communities,” said Doll Stanley, In Defense of Animals’ Justice for Animals Senior Campaigner. “Those who harm animals are a danger to all society. The Westfield justice system has to do better and we urge a stronger sentence for his accomplice if he is found guilty.” 

Nava’s pre-trial is scheduled for December 4, and his jury trial is scheduled for December 16. 

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Contact: Doll Stanley, doll@idausa.org, (662) 809-4483

In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization with over 250,000 supporters and a history of protecting animals, people, and the environment through education and campaigns, as well as hands-on rescue in California, India, South Korea, and rural Mississippi, since 1983. www.idausa.org/justice4animals

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