Joseph Hattey listens to Judge Boyd at his preliminary hearing on June 21, 2018 in the 55th District Court. Hattey faces two charges of sodomy.
—Editor's note — This article contains sensitive descriptions that might be upsetting for some readers.
Former Michigan State health physicist Joseph Hattey, accused of sexually abusing his dog, was sentenced Sept. 18 to two years of probation and a $575 fine.
Hatty pleaded guilty in Ingham County’s 30th Circuit Court to one misdemeanor charge of failing to provide an animal with adequate care.
After receiving his sentence, Hattey passed out in the courtroom and was carried out on a gurney. Hattey’s attorney, Patrick O’Keefe said dehydration could have caused the collapse.
“As we got to the very end of his sentencing, he and I are standing at the podium and he whispers in my ear ‘I think I'm gonna pass out’,” O’Keefe said.
He said Hattey started to get wobbly while sweating. “I looked to my right, and he starts getting wobbly, and I can see he's perspiring profusely —
"An old friend of mine from the prosecutor's office ... wheeled a chair up right underneath him right before he went down, so he slumped down in the chair," O'Keefe said. "You could tell he was very dehydrated, he got overheated.”
Hattey originally faced two bestiality charges until one was dropped in July 2018.
Hattey is no longer an employee of MSU since his resignation in August 2018.
As a part of Hattey’s probation, he is not allowed to care for or own any animals, any violations of his probation could result in serving 93 days in jail.
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