Florida Veterinarian Arrested For Sexually Abusing A Dog And Possession of Child Pornography

Federal agents arrested on Tuesday a veterinarian in South Florida after being accused of sexually abusing a dog as well as possession of child pornography. The 40-year-old veterinarian, identified as Prentiss Madden, worked at the Caring Hands Animal Hospital as a medical director until he was fired two weeks ago.

According to authorities, an investigation was launched against the animal doctor after receiving a cyber tip. The criminal complaint said they found a collection of child pornography as well as pictures believed to be of Madden sexually abusing a dog.

The file-sharing web service DropBox notified police about a certain user with more than 1,600 suspected files containing child porn. The files were then traced to an IP address registered to Madden’s home in Aventura.

In a story on ABC News, Homeland Security agents raided Madden's home on Feb. 24 and found files in which Madden discussed “the sexual abuse of animals and children” as well as multiple photos and videos depicting bestiality. The files were said to be digitally coded as having been taken at his home.

Madden also shared images in a chat and admitted in detail to having sex with and abusing dogs.

Another explicit video was traced as having been taken at the animal hospital in May 2018.

“This leads me to believe that Madden may be abusing animals entrusted to his care,” Agent Leah Ortiz wrote in her complaint..

Caring Hands Animal Hospital released a statement after Madden’s arrest:

“We at Caring Hands Animal Hospital are appalled by the nature of the charges against Prentiss Madden. We immediately terminated Mr. Madden two weeks ago upon learning that he was under investigation for these heinous and unthinkable crimes. Our legal team, and every single member of the Caring Hands family will be doing everything in our power to aid law enforcement and facilitate their investigation and prosecution.”

Madden's charges fall under a federal law outlawing animal abuse, which was initially created in response to a genre of cruelty in which people record the harming of animals for the sexual gratification of viewers, The Miami Herald reported.

The Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2019, makes the production of torture videos punishable by up to seven years in prison.