A former standout gymnast at the University of Illinois at Chicago was sentenced today to 1 year of probation after being found guilty of felony animal cruelty for pouring boiling water on his dog in anger after it urinated on the floor.
Kyle Voissem, 21, apologized before he was sentenced.
'I never meant to hurt Byron. I loved him,' he said. 'I have learned a lot from this experience.'
Voissem lost his full-ride scholarship, was kicked out of school and is now unable to find work after animal-rights groups organized an online effort to publicize his case, according to his attorney.
Judge James Obbish took a shot at the animal-rights activists who have targeted Voissem online since news of the charges broke. He said they would only be happy if Voissem spent his life in jail and added he believed their online campaign to destroy Voissem's ability to find work was worse than Voiseem's crime.
'These people better start to take a look inside themselves,' he said.
Obbish declined to ban Voissem from owning a pet while he was on probation, angering an animal-rights worker who was in the courtroom.
'I think it's pathetic that he couldn't give no contact with companion animals,' said Barbara Chadwick, who said she is a court advocate for an anti-cruelty organization called the Dog Advisory Work Group. She made her comments outside the courtroom.
According to Cook County prosecutors, Voissem was boiling water to make macaroni and cheese for dinner at his home in the 1700 block of South Desplaines Street in October 2011 when he saw Byron -- his 1 ½-year-old mountain cur mix -- urinate on the floor.Voissem threw the scalding water at the pup, causing second-degree burns over 50 percent of its body and third-degree burns on its neck, prosecutors said.
After the Anti-Cruelty Society lodged a complaint against him, Voissem, who is from West Allis, Wis., was arrested two months after the incident and charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty.
That prompted numerous animal-rights groups to start online petitions and lobby the state's attorney's office for upgraded charges. Voissem was charged with felony aggravated cruelty to animals in January 2012.
Voissem's attorney, Catharine O'Daniel, said the case had left her client with a permanent 'Internet tattoo.' She said outside court that Voissem is now taking classes online and hasn't been able to find work.
'It's destroyed him,' she said.
sschmadeke@tribune.com
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