Animal cruelty case back in court
Sandra Reed-Byers now also faces two count sof failing to comply with conditions
A woman facing a mischief charge who is also before the courts for animal cruelty charges faces a new charge.
Sandra Reed-Byers (formerly Sandra Reed) allegedly neglected to follow the conditions of her mischief charge and has now been charged with fail to comply.
Her case was before the courts Wednesday, but she didn’t attend. Reed-Byers’ lawyer Dave McFadden spoke on her behalf and the matter was adjourned until Nov. 27.
The mischief charge stems from the harassment of the Ellis family, who share a property with Reed-Byers.
The rented farmland is off Highway 7 towards Norwood. Ellis and her family live in the house on the property and Reed Byers lives in an apartment in the barn.
After the Ellis’s confronted Reed-Byers about her mistreatment of her animals, Reed-Byers began harassing the family.
Conditions on the mischief charge prevent Reed-Byers from having any contact with the Ellis’s. If she does, she’s neglecting the order and has failed to comply.
Reed-Byers is also before the courts for 33 counts of animal cruelty by the OSPCA in June, after an investigation that lead to the removal of a horse, goat, three dogs and 22 sheep that were emaciated.
The OSPCA charges are provincial offences and the mischief and failed to comply are criminal charges. All of the charges are before Peterborough’s Ontario Court of Justice.
McFadden is also representing Reed-Byers on the OSPCA charges.
The accused used to operate Whisper Ridge Ranch, which she called a horse sanctuary, on the Highway 7 property.
A protest against Reed Byers’s treatment of animals was held outside the farm in 2016. She was under OSPCA investigation at the time and was investigated by the OSPCA before that as well.
The 56-year-old returns to court for the provincial charges on Nov. 15.