January is Animal Abuser Registry Awareness Month in Marion County

This frame grab from the “Molly’s Law Documentary” shows the wounds the canine received in a brutal attack in 2014. Her attacker later served time in prison. [Photo by Bruce Ackerman]

The beautiful face of Molly, the longtime former ambassador of the Marion County Animal Abuser Registry, also known as “Molly’s Law,” continues to shine awareness on animal abuse.

This law, which was launched in 2017, was named after Molly, an American boxer mix who survived a brutal attack in 2014. Molly was stabbed three times in the head and had her skull fractured with a baseball bat. Her accused attacker, Steven Scott Fleming, served time in state prison on three counts of felony cruelty to animals.

Molly died in 2023, at the age 15. She had been adopted by Lilly Baron, director of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) of Ocala, years earlier.

The Marion County Board of County Commissioners declared January as Marion County Animal Abuser Registry Awareness Month. A media release noted that the registry is a publicly accessible database that is maintained by Marion County Animal Services. It lists individuals convicted of criminal animal abuse in Marion County. It helps shelters, rescues, pet sellers and the community identify and avoid enabling known abusers.

The materials noted that anyone who has been criminally convicted of animal abuse in Marion County is required to be placed on the registry. For a first conviction of a misdemeanor animal abuse crime, the abuser is mandated on the registry for a period of three years; for a first conviction of a felony animal abuse crime a period of five years and for a subsequent conviction of either a misdemeanor or felony animal abuse crime, a period of 10 years. This applies to crimes such as neglect, torture, abandonment or unlawful confinement of animals.

Baron said 11 other Florida counties have similar registries, but anyone wanting to know if someone is listed would have to look through all 11 to gain information. She has long been a proponent of having a statewide database.
“If we can get a statewide registry, then it would be a much easier process to learn if someone has been adjudicated guilty of animal cruelty,” she noted.

In the coming state legislative sessions, Sen. Stan McClain of Marion County is expected to introduce a bill in support of a statewide animal abuser database.

Anyone who suspects animal cruelty can call Marion County Animal Services at (352) 671-8727 or the Marion County Sheriff’s Office at (352) 732-9111 or Crime Stoppers at (352) 368-7867.

To access the registry, go to animalservices.marionfl.org/animal-control/animal-control-and-pet-laws/animal-abuser-registry

Hannah Harper pets Molly during the “Molly’s Law Documentary” premiere at the Marion Theatre on April 24, 2022. The Marion County Animal Abuse Registry also is known as Molly’s Law, in honor of the canine, who was brutally beaten in 2014. [Photo by Bruce Ackerman]