A 15 year old boy has been charged in an animal beating and cruelty incident captured on social media video from last week. According to a report from the Jacksonville Journal Courier, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources formally charged the teen in Schuyler County with taking a racoon out of season for the video he posted of bludgeoning a racoon on a fence post.
The September 10th incident was captured by the teen, who left taunting messages in the video. Schuyler County States Attorney Ramon Escapa had been awaiting the charging documents when WLDS News spoke to him on the phone last week. Racoons are a protected species in Illinois, meaning a permit is required to hunt or trap them. Depending upon the severity of the charges, the teen could face high misdemeanor charges or a Class 4 felony. The teen will have his first appearance in Schuyler County Court on October 3rd.
