Woman at center of rabbit hoarding case is heading to jail
HILLSBORO, Ore. - A woman at the center of a sometimes bizarre case of animal abuse and hoarding will now spend three days in jail for a probation violation.
Miriam Sakewitz was charged with violating her probation after a prosecutor showed a Washington County judge proof that she may be raising rabbits again in the form of photos a neighbor took of her property.
The photo showed a rabbit in her garage, but Sakewitz claims she was watching the animal for a friend.
The explanation did not wash for Judge Steven Price in Hillsboro on Thursday, and he ordered Sakewitz to spend three days in the Washington County Jail.
Following her stay behind bars, Sakewitz will be required to stay 100 yards away from all rabbits, and she must also maintain a medical regimen and attend mandatory scheduled counseling sessions.
Sakewitz did make some remarks during the proceedings, saying she was "not a hoarder," and that the "case is unfortunate, it has caused a lot of problems in my life."
She added that if the case had gone to trial, "we wouldn't be standing here today." At that point, her legal counsel advised her to stop speaking.
Sakewitz avoided jail time with a plea deal in April by pleading guilty to dozens of charges of first and second degree animal neglect.
Police seized over 150 live rabbits and nearly 100 dead ones she had been keeping in a freezer at her Hillsboro home.
In January, she broke into a secure facility and stole many of the rabbits back. An alert hotel clerk tipped police to her location in Washington and she was arrested again and the rabbits were once again confiscated and kept in a secret location.
Since that time, most of the animals have been adopted.
Sakewitz was banned from owning any domestic animals for five years, but in June, neighbors took pictures of at least one rabbit in her garage.
When probation officers arrived that same day, they say Sakewitz would not answer her door even though she was home, another violation of her probation.