A 40-year-old veterinarian in South Florida, Dr. Prentiss Madden, was arrested on Tuesday and now faces federal charges for possessing child pornography and sexually abusing an animal, according to The Miami Herald.
Madden’s arrest came about after a cyber tip got him onto the radar of authorities back in February. A subsequent raid of his home reportedly turned up digital child porn images, in addition to images of a person, believed to be him, sexually abusing a dog.
The animal hospital where he had been serving as medical director has scrubbed him from its website and practice. In a statement it also said, upon learning of the allegations, Madden was fired two weeks ago. It called the accusations appalling, and stated the intent to cooperate fully with the investigation.
“We at Caring Hands Animal Hospital are appalled by the nature of the charges against Prentiss Madden,” it said in a statement to WSVN. “We immediately terminated Mr. Madden two weeks ago upon learning that he was under investigation for these heinous and unthinkable crimes. Our legal team, and every single member of the Caring Hands family will be doing everything in our power to aid law enforcement and facilitate their investigation and prosecution.”
According to clients who brought their pets to that business, Madden was a popular vet.
“I’m really sad. For me, he was such a great doctor. If the allegations are true, they’re horrifying,” said one of those clients. “I was so sick after I heard this that I threw up.”
“I would have never believed it,” said another. “I absolutely loved the guy. I loved him. He treated my cat too and my neighbors’ dogs and cats.”
Madden is scheduled to appear in federal court on Wednesday afternoon.
