Rock Hill animal trainer pleads guilty; How long is she banned from caring for dogs?
A Rock Hill dog trainer is banned from caring for animals for five years after a dog was found dead and others were malnourished, according to prosecutors and court records.
Jessica Nicole Viscusie pleaded guilty Monday in York County criminal court to three counts of misdemeanor ill treatment of animals, records show.
Viscusie was sentenced to three years of probation, along with a five-year court order that bans her from animal care and custody, said Alex Harper, 16th Circuit assistant solicitor.
Viscusie agreed to the order that legally stops her from animal care as part of the guilty plea, Harper said.
She previously housed and trained animals at a Rock Hill business, records show. Viscusie was arrested in December after customers complained in November about the condition of dogs in Viscusie’s care, according to police and court records.
Ill treatment of animals in South Carolina is defined as a person who, “tortures, torments, needlessly mutilates, cruelly kills, or inflicts excessive or repeated unnecessary pain or suffering upon an animal or by omission or commission causes these acts to be done.”
A sentence of 90 days in jail for each count of ill treatment of animals was suspended, provided Viscusie successfully completes probation, Harper said.
This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 11:21 AM.
