Judge: Max sentence 'inadequate' for mom

A Suffolk judge gave the maximum sentence to a mother for torturing and killing pets and raising her children in squalid conditions, but it still wasn't enough, the judge said.

"The penal law is inadequate to adequately address the full magnitude of the defendant's actions here," Judge C. Randall Hinrichs said as he sentenced Sharon McDonough, of Selden to 2 years in jail, adding that her crimes were "absolutely horrific."

McDonough hung her head as she listened to Assistant District Attorney John Cortes call her behavior "sinister. It was barbaric. It was evil."

He also read letters from her oldest son, Douglas, 22, and foster parents of some of his six younger sisters. They begged Hinrichs to keep her away from them. He obliged, signing orders of protection.

One foster parent said McDonough's daughters slept in filth, bathed with baby wipes and witnessed horrific abuse to animals. When she pleaded guilty in January to aggravated cruelty to animals and child endangerment, McDonough acknowledged choking a Maltese dog to death in front of her 10-year-old daughter in June 2006, among other crimes.

McDonough could only sob when she had the chance to speak. Defense attorney Christopher Brocato said his client couldn't cope with the effects of an abusive marriage and poverty after her husband died.

"She loves her children, your honor," Brocato said. "I know it may seem on the surface hard to believe, but she does."

She understands her parental rights will probably be terminated, Brocato said later. He said he hopes the counseling she's gotten in jail since her December 2009 arrest will continue when she gets out of jail next month. Defendants who serve time in New York county jails usually serve two-thirds of their sentences.

Douglas McDonough, who had moved out, turned in his mother to Rescue Ink, an animal rescue group run by heavily tattooed bikers. In his letter to Hinrichs, he said, "I fear for my well being, my sisters and my 6-month-old child" after his mother is released.

"This person needs help," Rescue Ink founding member Joe Panz said of Sharon McDonough. "We have to figure out why she'd do something like this."