Sick carer battered and strangled canine to dying in entrance of youngsters
Aija Cernevica, 30, was banned from working as a carer after animal cruelty conviction at Beith park – she is currently serving a three-year prison sentence
Aija Cernevica strangled a dog to death in a park(Image: Facebook)
A depraved carer who brutally battered and strangled a dog to death in front of children in a park has been barred from working in the profession. Aija Cernevica, 30, was struck off on Thursday (May 7) and is currently serving a three-year prison sentence for the heinous crime. The Kilbirnie resident in North Ayrshire was jailed at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court after pleading guilty in January.
Police were called to Orr’s Trust Public Park in Beith in May last year following reports of a dog being assaulted, and upon arrival, they found the lifeless animal.
The court heard how Cernevica, who was caring for the dog, repeatedly struck it with her hands, kicked and stamped on it, bit it, and seized it by the collar.
She then swung the dog across a fence, dragged and threw it around the ground in front of horrified children, before straddling it, pinning it to the ground with her body weight, and strangling it to death. Cernevica carried out this despicable act while on bail.
The disturbing details of the incident emerged during a Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) hearing this week, reports the Daily Record.
The watchdog revealed Cernevica was in possession of five blades when she attacked the dog. As a result, she has been removed from the care register indefinitely.
A statement from the SSSC reads: “Your actions caused the suffering and death of an animal in your care. You reactions are likely to have caused significant emotional harm to members of the public who may have witnessed your behaviour. You engaged in a course of violent and abusive behaviour over the course of a day, which indicates a pattern.
“Your behaviour is indicative of significant attitudinal and values issues which have the potential to place others at risk of serious harm. Your actions amount to a significant abuse of power and trust, albeit that trust was not derived from your registrable role.
“The behaviours which led to your convictions were very serious. There are significant public protection concerns arising from your behaviour. We consider the public interest to be high and that the reputation of the profession could be damaged as a result of your behaviour. A finding of current impairment is necessary to maintain confidence in both the social services profession and the SSSC in an effective regulator.”
It concluded: “A condition would not be appropriate because there are no conditions which could be placed on you which would address why your fitness to practise is impaired.
“The type of behaviour at issue is not the type of behaviour which Page 5 of 6 conditions would rectify. You are not currently working in the sector. A condition would not be workable or enforceable.”
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