PEORIA COUNTY, Ill. (WMBD) — More details have emerged regarding a viral dog abuse video out of Dunlap and whether the dog’s owner knew about the abuse the day it happened.
In the graphic video, Nicholas Prince, 39, is shown repeatedly beating and punching 13-month-old Mika, a feisty German Shepherd who loves belly rubs, for nearly a minute.
The new details come from a Peoria County Sheriff’s office report. It states Amanda Son, Mika’s owner and Prince’s ex-girlfriend, was aware Prince was “punishing” the dog at the time it happened and why he did it.
The report stated Son said she had bought a $75 plant which had been outside. It continued, stating she said Mika had destroyed the plant, so she brought the dog downstairs and put it in the kennel as punishment.
Son said she went upstairs, and shortly afterward, she heard Mika yelping from the basement, according to the report. She ran downstairs and found Prince in the dog kennel, to which she yelled at him to stop what he was doing.
According to the report, Son said Prince was “punishing” the dog for destroying the plant. She said Prince had gotten mad at her for stopping him and told her Mika had bitten him, though it is unclear if that was the main reason Prince decided to beat the dog.
In the report, police ask Son if she took the dog to get medical treatment. She said after looking at Mika, the dog did not show any signs of injuries like bleeding or limping, nor was the dog acting any different.
The report stated Son said she should have said something sooner, but said Prince is “very intimidating,” and she “had to do what was in her best interest.”
But after things escalated between them the last weekend of July, Son said she checked cameras to see “if there was anything of value for an order of protection.”
This is when she found the minute-long video of Prince beating Mika, the report stated.
According to the report, Son was unaware the video of the abuse existed, nor did she review the videos until recently.
On Monday, Son turned the video over to the Peoria County Courthouse, where she also filed and received an emergency order of protection from Prince.
