Asbury Park man accused of raping cat loses bid to avoid prosecution; he plans to appeal

FREEHOLD - Prosecutors have rejected an Asbury Park man's bid to avoid criminal prosecution on charges he repeatedly raped, tortured and killed his pet cat, but the defendant's attorney says he will appeal the decision to a Superior Court judge.

Bani J. Mezquititla, 19, appeared before Superior Court Judge Chad N. Cagan Wednesday to hear the decision on his application to enter the court's pretrial intervention (PTI) program, a diversionary program which affords first-time offenders the opportunity to avoid a trial and criminal record upon successfully completing a period of supervision.

Keri-Leigh Schaefer, assistant Monmouth County prosecutor, told the judge the prosecutor's investigator recommended against allowing Mezquititla into the program.

"The state agreed and rejected the defendant from the PTI program,'' Schaefer said.

Mezquititla's attorney, William Wackowski, told the judge he plans to file an appeal of the rejection.

An appeal, if it is filed, would be heard by Superior Court Judge Christie L. Bevacqua, Schaefer said.

Cagan scheduled a court appearance for Mequititla for Feb. 29 to track the status of the appeal and the case.

Mezquititla is charged in an indictment with two counts of animal cruelty related to the alleged mistreatment of his pet cat, Ellie. One count alleges he tormented, tortured or abused the animal. The other accuses him of using the feline in a sexual manner.

Mezquititla was arrested March 2 after he told his roommate the cat had run away, but changed his story and told her he threw the pet out of their apartment window, prosecutors said. The roommate went outside and retrieved the cat's corpse and brought it to the Asbury Park Police Department, spurring an investigation.

Mezquititla confessed to the abuse, telling police it began with him masturbating in front of the cat in December 2022, Sevan Biramian, an assistant Monmouth County prosecutor, said at the defendant's detention hearing in March. Mezquititla went on to tell investigators that his conduct escalated to repeated incidents of sexual intercourse with the cat over the course of months, as well as sexually torturing her with a pencil, Biramian said.

Mezquititla also tortured the animal by repeatedly strangling her with a pulley device fashioned out of a phone-charger cord, door knob and dresser knob, the assistant prosecutor said at the hearing in March.

Mezquititla is alleged to have bound the cat's paws behind her back with miniature handcuffs during the torture, Biramian said. He also cut off her tongue and part of her jaw while she was still alive and, once she was dead, threw her out of his apartment window, the assistant prosecutor said.

Mezquititla took photographs and video of some of the torture, including video of the cat's paws handcuffed behind her back and visual evidence showing the defendant smirking as Ellie fought for her life during the torture.

Mezquititla has been held without bail at the Monmouth County Jail since his arrest.

Kathleen Hopkins, a reporter in New Jersey since 1985, covers crime, court cases, legal issues and just about every major murder trial to hit Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact her at khopkins@app.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Prosecutors reject Asbury Park man's bid to avoid trial in cat rape