(10-30-26) Brittany Baldauf (36,) pleaded guilty in Van Wert Municipal Court to a total of seven counts of cruelty to animals, all second degree misdemeanors.

In Ohio, a second-degree misdemeanor for cruelty to animals can occur when someone violates section 959.02 of the Revised Code. This includes willfully or maliciously injuring or killing another person’s domestic animal without their consent. The penalty for a first offense is 90 to 180 days in jail and a fine, and subsequent offenses are fifth-degree felonies. However, if the animal is killed or injured for a value of $300 or more, the offense is a first-degree misdemeanor.

Baldauf twas sentenced to 90 days in jail on each of the first two counts, along with a $500 fine and court costs on each of those counts. The sentences are to run consecutively.

Baldauf is scheduled to report to the Van Wert County Jail on November 28th.

Baldauf was fined $500 plus court costs on each of the remaining five charges, and was sentenced to a total of five years of probation, and given five suspended 90-day jail sentences and is forbidden to own a companion animal for five years.

VW Independent story— Woman sentenced in animal cruelty case