Shane Broadby pleads guilty to animal cruelty, skipping bail

A Norlane man who beat and choked a puppy was under pressure after finding the corpse of a murdered man, a court has heard.

Shane Broadby outside Geelong court in 2019, during the trial of Nicholas Munn.

A Norlane man tortured a puppy was under pressure after finding the corpse of a murdered man, a court has heard.

Shane Broadby, 27, appeared in Geelong Magistrates Court on Monday and pleaded guilty to an animal cruelty charge and two failures to answer bail.

RSPCA senior prosecutor Graham Hambridge told the court that in May 2019, Broadby lived in Norlane and had a three-and-a-half-month-old puppy, which was a gift from an ex-partner.

Witnesses saw Broadby punch and choke the animal, slam it into a bed and wall and use his body to “crush the puppy into the floor”.

Two witnesses filmed the abuse, Mr Hambridge told the court, and the puppy “appeared terrified”.

The puppy was removed on May 10 and taken to a Geelong veterinary clinic.

A vet, who had not been told of the abuse, did not note any abnormalities in the puppy and it was admitted to the Geelong Animal Welfare Society (GAWS), before being impounded by the RSPCA.

The court heard the puppy was alive and had found a new home.

In July, investigators went to an address in Shepparton where Broadby was living, but he refused to be interviewed.

Broadby’s lawyer, Michelle Lothian, told the court her client offered no justification for the “sickening … stomach-churning” offence.

She said he had failed to appear in the past because he was afraid of going to prison, but had now spent two nights behind bars.

Broadby was disgusted with himself, Ms Lothian said, and had instructed her he was deeply remorseful, and wished he could “take it back”. He had not owned a pet since, she said.

The court heard Broadby struggled with an intellectual disability and had been a witness in a homicide case, where he “opened up a car and there was a body in the vehicle”.

The body belonged to Jason Fry, who was murdered by his housemate Nicholas Munn with a hammer in 2018.

Broadby testified during the trial but had no counselling or assistance in this process, Ms Lothian said.

“He simply was not coping,” Ms Lothian told the court, adding it was “exceptionally traumatic”.

Broadby relocated to Shepparton in part because he felt “at risk” due to the position he was in. 

Magistrate Ann McGarvie said she was “flabbergasted” by what Broadby did.

She placed him on a 12-month community corrections order (CCO), after he was found suitable and told him to find the root cause of his behaviour.

“It’s very concerning behaviour and a little puppy is a defenceless, vulnerable little animal,” Ms McGarvie said.

“You need to work out what it is that led you to treat this little puppy like that, so that in the future you never, ever, act that way toward an animal ever again.”

She said she was confident Broadby’s mother, who was a dog-lover, could monitor his behaviour.

Broadby was also banned from being in charge of an animal for 10 years.

Originally published as Shane Broadby pleads guilty to animal cruelty, skipping bail