In this March 6, 2018 file photo, Radoslaw Czerkawski listens to jury selection for his trial on animal cruelty charges at Norfolk Superior Court on in Dedham, Mass. (AP)
A Polish man living in Massachusetts will be deported once he serves up to 10 years in prison after he beat a dog so badly that officials were forced to euthanize it.
Radoslaw Czerkawski, 37, was sentenced to 8 to 10 years in prison Tuesday after he was convicted of animal cruelty.
He's in the United States illegally, the Boston Herald reported.
The dog, nicknamed “Puppy Doe” after it was found abandoned, was purchased by Czerkawski on Craigslist in 2013.
WARNING: PHOTO BELOW MAY BE DISTURBING
Kiya, as the dog was named by her previous owners, was found badly beaten in a park with fractures to her skull and ribs, crushing injuries to her spine, a dislocated shoulder, a stab wound to the right eye and a split tongue.
The dog was put down a month later because of her injuries.
Czerkawski’s lawyer acknowledged his client owned the dog, but said it ran away and someone else was responsible for the abuse.
The Polish native, who already is in prison on two unrelated larceny charges, also will be deported once he completes his sentences, immigration officials have said. They already have lodged a detainer for him upon his release.
Czerkawski also was sentenced to two years’ probation after his release but Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey said the probation would not delay his deportation.
Czerkawski also is barred from owning or coming into contact with any animals, including volunteering at animal shelters, although it remains unclear if this will follow him back to Poland.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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