Man Who Took 7-Year-Old Son to Watch His Favorite Dog Fight to the Death Sentenced to Prison

Three men have been sentenced for their involvement in an interstate dogfighting network, including a man who reportedly took his son to watch his favorite dog fight to the death.

Spanning from at least 2013 until July 2018, 52-year-old Odell S. Anderson, 47-year-old Chester A. Moody, and 46-year-old Emmanuel A. Powe "sponsored and exhibited dogs, as well as participated in almost every other aspect of dogfighting," according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Additionally, the three men possessed "significant dog fighting equipment" including treadmills, medical kits, and "breeding stands used to forcibly immobilize female fighting dogs," the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

"The violent and cruel act of dogfighting is a heinous form of animal abuse," Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia said in a statement. "These defendants served as leaders, breeders, and trainers for a multi-year dogfighting operation and brazenly promoted this barbaric form of 'entertainment' for illegal personal gain."

According to court documents obtained by The Washington Post, Anderson took his 7-year-old son to a yard in King George, Virginia, in 2016 to watch the boy's favorite dog — named Cookie Monster — fight two other dogs.

Anderson later told the FBI that he was confident that Cookie Monster would win, and he did. The two other dogs died from their injuries, and one was left in a dumpster, the newspaper reports.

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Anderson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in dogfighting activities, as well as one count of causing a child under the age of sixteen to attend an illegal animal fight venture.

He will serve 18 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

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Moody and Powe also each pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to engage in dogfighting activities.

Moody will serve one year and one day in prison, Powe will serve the same sentence as Anderson, the Justice Department said.

"Dogfighting is a form of cruelty with no place in our society," Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division said in a statement. "This cruelty will not be tolerated, nor will exposing a child to such horrific acts."