Huntley teen pleads guilty to cruelty to a raccoon, gets jail time

A Huntley man accused of impaling a raccoon with a sword pleaded guilty Thursday to beating the animal with a hammer and treating it cruelly, according to McHenry County court records.

Daniel A. Carey, 19, was sentenced to 59 days in the county jail and 18 months of probation after he pleaded guilty to an amended Class A misdemeanor charge of cruelty to animals, court records show.

He initially faced more serious charges of animal torture, Class 3 felonies, as well as one count of disorderly conduct, a Class A misdemeanor, according to the indictment. Had Carey been convicted on the more serious felonies, he could have been sentenced up to five years in prison.

He also was ordered perform 240 hours at an animal shelter, veterinarian or other similar business and pay $1,239 in fines and fees, according to a sentencing order signed by Judge Tiffany Davis.

He was initially charged last year along with Nathan P. Weber, 19, of Lake in the Hills. The pair was accused of torturing a raccoon with a garden rake, hammer and sword, video-taping the animal in “agony” and posting it to social media, according to Huntley police and McHenry County prosecutors.

Carey was accused of impaling a raccoon with a cutlass-style sword or large knife and “repeatedly” striking it with a hammer on June 11, 2022, in Huntley, “subjecting the animal to extreme physical pain, suffering or agony,” and “participated in an offensive video” showing the animal being tortured, according to the indictment. The video was then posted on social media.

The indictment alleged that Weber struck the animal with a garden rake while it was impaled on the sword or large knife. He also was accused of participating in making the video of the animal being tortured and sharing it on social media, according to the indictment.

Weber pleaded guilty in April to recording the animal being impaled and struck repeatedly, court records show. He was sentenced to 10 days in jail and 240 hours of community service at an animal shelter or similar business, according to the sentencing order.

Carey’s attorney declined to comment on the case.