CONVICTED (2017) | Paul Francis Woolston, born 09/12/1974, as at 2019 of Cornwall Street, Hartlepool TS25 5RY – threw a cat across a road and dumped him, still alive, into a wheelie bin
Paul Woolston pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a one-year-old cat named Chester in the incident on July 8, 2016.
The court heard that Woolston had grabbed Chester by the scruff of the neck, took him outside then threw him through the air.
He told RSPCA inspectors he had reacted after the panicked animal attacked his partner’s cat and clawed his hand after he tried to coax him out of his cage.
Neighbours recorded Woolston on a mobile phone, picking up the “twitching” animal off the road before dumping him in the bin.
John Ellwood, prosecuting for the RSPCA, said Chester may not have been dead when he was thrown into the bin.
He was collected by refuse collectors the following day and his body was never recovered, which meant a post-mortem examination could not be carried out.
“This defendant, for whatever reason, threw a cat, did not check if it was dead, did not check what was wrong with it, just put it in a wheelie bin to die a pretty miserable death,” he told Teesside Magistrates’ Court .
In a statement, Chester’s owner said: “He was lovely, he was always looking for attention and there was no aggression in him at all.
“He never growled or scratched or bit anyone whilst in my care.
“My partner had various health problems and the cat’s fur aggravated them.”
She was contacted by Woolston’s partner, Victoria Woolston, who had offered to give Chester a home.
“I described the care he needed and said it had to be a forever home,” said the owner.
“I took Chester on the Wednesday and she told me on the Thursday he was vicious. She told me she had rehomed Chester in Seaham.”
She contacted the RSPCA after hearing about the animal’s ordeal.
Sentencing: 12-month community order with 250 hours of unpaid work; total of £170 costs and charges. Banned from keeping animals for five years (expired February 2022).
Update October 2020
TeessideLive reports that Woolston was back before the courts after being caught sending sexual messages to what he thought was a 13-year-old girl.
Woolston was caught out by a vigilante group called Child Online Safety Team (COST) which hunts paedophiles operating on the internet by posing as children.
Woolston made contact with the ‘girl’ in April 2020. Messages were sent with suggestions of penetrative sexual activity, the court heard.
A video was shared online by COST and the man who confronts Woolston states, ‘You’re going to need a solicitor now’.
When asked why he committed the offence, Woolston states he was “bored”, and says it wouldn’t have happened “if I had a woman”.
Woolston pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.
The court heard the breakdown of his marriage was traumatic and, at the time of his offence, he was living with his mother and felt lonely and isolated.
Woolston was given a 30-month community order and ordered to carry out 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 120 hours of unpaid work.
He was also made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for five years.