COLUMBIA, S.C. — An Orangeburg man was sentenced to five years in federal prison for burning a puppy alive in an act of animal cruelty captured on Facebook Live, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.
Desmond Levon Brown, 30, was sentenced under the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act, commonly known as the PACT Act. Prosecutors said the case marked the first prosecution under the federal law in the District of South Carolina.
On Dec. 18, 2024, the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office received reports of a Facebook Live video showing Brown throwing a puppy into a fire.
Deputies investigating the incident discovered the puppy’s remains in a wooded area near where the abuse occurred.
Federal investigators subsequently obtained the video, which showed Brown holding the puppy over the flames before dropping it into the fire.
According to prosecutors, Brown repeatedly kicked the puppy back into the flames whenever it attempted to escape, ultimately burning the animal alive.
After his arrest, Brown admitted to burning the puppy during recorded telephone calls from jail, authorities said.
Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said the puppy was defenseless against the repeated abuse.
“This puppy could neither fend for itself nor find a way out of this horrific torture because it was thrown into the fire over and over,” Ravenell said.
U.S. District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced Brown to 60 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
As a condition of his supervised release, Brown is prohibited from owning or possessing animals.
There is no parole in the federal prison system.
About the PACT Act
The Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act, signed into law in November 2019, makes certain forms of intentional animal cruelty federal crimes when they fall within federal jurisdiction.
The law prohibits conduct known as animal crushing, including intentionally burning, drowning, suffocating, impaling or otherwise inflicting serious bodily injury on living animals.
Violations can carry penalties of up to seven years in federal prison.
Quick Fact Checklist
- Defendant: Desmond Levon Brown, 30.
- Residence: Orangeburg, South Carolina.
- Crime: Burning a puppy alive.
- Incident date: Dec. 18, 2024.
- Evidence: Facebook Live video and recorded jail telephone calls.
- Investigating agency: Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office, with federal law enforcement involvement.
- Federal law: Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act (PACT Act).
- Historical significance: First PACT Act prosecution in the District of South Carolina.
- Presiding judge: U.S. District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis.
- Prison sentence: Five years (60 months).
- Supervised release: Three years.
- Additional restriction: Prohibited from owning or possessing animals during supervised release.
- Federal parole: Not available.