Jaydan Depina, 22, pleaded guilty to six counts of animal cruelty in Middlesex Superior Court after admitting he kicked, stepped on, and threw a cat named Sage out a window before slamming him head-first multiple times. He was sentenced to 90 days in prison an
A cat lay motionless long enough to be picked up by the neck and carried back inside—caught on surveillance as a man outside a Cambridge apartment unleashed repeated violence before investigators ever saw what happened.
Jaydan Depina. 22. pleaded guilty to animal cruelty after court records say he abused a one-year-old male domestic shorthair cat named Sage on or about July 5. 2025. Depina admitted guilt on June 11 in Middlesex Superior Court on six counts of animal cruelty. He was sentenced to 90 days in prison followed by two years of probation.
The case centers on what Depina did during the attacks and what he did immediately before them. Court filings describe surveillance footage showing Depina approaching Sage outside 59 Norfolk St. in Cambridge. Investigators say Depina grabbed the cat by the tail and kicked him twice before trying to reenter the building.
Depina then continued the abuse, according to the records. He slammed Sage head-first onto the ground three times. He swung the cat by his tail, pinned him to the ground, and stood on him. The footage then shows Depina grabbing a motionless Sage by the neck and carrying him into the building.
Investigators also learned that, right before the acts captured on the security video, Depina had thrown Sage out of one of the building’s multi-story windows and onto the pavement.
In court, Depina admitted to more than just the window incident. Records show he stepped on the cat, grabbed him by the tail and neck, and slammed him on the ground head-first.
Cambridge police, along with law enforcement for the Massachusetts Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA), investigated the case. Depina was indicted in August 2025 and initially pleaded not guilty to six counts of animal cruelty. Prosecutors later recommended a sentence of up to a year in prison. citing his “young age and minimal criminal record. ” even though the maximum penalty was seven years in state prison.
The injuries described in the case were extensive. Sage suffered multiple bilateral fractures in his paw bones, signs of blunt force trauma and tail trauma, suspected displacement of his tail vertebrae, and nerve damage to his perineum.
Depina later told an MSPCA officer that he attacked Sage because the cat bit him, court filings state.
Signs of further injuries on Sage suggested a history of abuse, animal protection organization In Defense of Animals said. The organization also reported that Sage has since been recovered and “adopted into a loving home.”
As the case moved through the system, In Defense of Animals sought a harsher outcome. In September 2025, the organization sent a letter to Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan petitioning for the maximum sentence. The letter drew more than 12,000 signatures.
A Middlesex judge ordered conditions for Depina after sentencing. Court records say Depina was ordered to stay in Massachusetts, receive mental health treatment, and avoid contact with animals. He was also ordered to continue programming at Charlestown Adult Education. maintain housing through the Liberty Village housing facility or a similar program. and earn his high school equivalency through HiSET.
In Defense of Animals’ Justice for Animals senior campaigner Doll Stanley said in a statement. “We thank members of the Cambridge justice system for treating this case with the seriousness it deserves. We respect prosecutors and judges when mental illness is a factor in egregious crimes and require mental health evaluation. treatment. and programs that are designed to ensure abusers are accountable for the trauma they cost their victims.”.
Depina’s attorney, Caleb Koufman, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday evening.
Cambridge animal cruelty Middlesex Superior Court MSPCA sentencing Sage the cat Jaydan Depina Marian Ryan In Defense of Animals Justice for Animals