Calgary woman who admitted to torturing, killing cats sentenced to more than 6 years

Calgary woman gets 6 1/2 years for animal cruelty Aleeta Raugust was sentenced to six-and-a-half years on Thursday at Calgary court for the torture and killing of nine cats.

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A Calgary woman diagnosed as a psychopath will serve more than five years behind bars after pleading guilty to nine counts of animal cruelty.

Aleeta Raugust, 26, admitted to adopting and then torturing nine cats.

She admitted to killing at least seven of them, but said there were others she threw in the river.

Sentencing submissions were heard on Thursday.

The Crown was seeking a sentence of eight to 10 years in prison, but Raugust was sentenced to six and a half.

With time already served, she will spend about five-and-a-half years in prison.

In a victim impact statement, Raugust’s mother said her daughter had a good childhood with every opportunity, but said Raugust had trouble fitting in.

After not seeing Raugust for months, her mother said she expected to see some remorse, but “saw only darkness in her eyes," saying she was "only concerned about where she would sleep if she was released.”

A psych report indicates Raugust reported taking video of “two or three” of the cat tortures and watching them repeatedly over several months before deleting them.

The Crown argued the unusually high sentence it was pushing for would be justified by the number of offences, the severity of the facts and the “bleak” prospects of rehabilitation.

Raugust showed no reaction when her sentencing was read.

The judge noted there were many aggravating factors in her offences, but noted her cooperation with police, saying many of the facts in the case wouldn't have been proven without her assistance.

Speaking to Raugust, the judge said that though her prognosis was bleak, she should "prove them wrong" to which she replied "thank you."