Large Crowds, Protestors Expected For Puppy Doe Trial

QUINCY, MA — Protestors and a large crowd are expected Tuesday when the Puppy Doe case heads to trial.

Jury selection in the case against Radoslaw Czerkawski begins next week. With high interest near certain, Norfolk Superior Court Judge Thomas Connors issued an order this week prohibiting people from carrying signs and placards or making statements about the defendant and his case within 500 feet of Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham during the trial. No one inside the courthouse will be allowed to wear any buttons, shirts, or insignia related to the defendant and the case.

The demonstrators have been common, often appearing in front of the courthouse anytime Czerkawski was present for a hearing.

"This court agrees that there is a substantial risk that the defendant's right to a fair trial will be jeopardized if prospective jurors are exposed to the messages contained in the signs, particularly before this Court has had an opportunity to instruct the jurors about their obligations with regard to remaining fair and unbiased," Connors wrote.

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Czerkawski faces several charges including multiple counts of animal abuse. Prosecutors say the native of Poland bought the dog on Craigslist in June 2013 and tortured and abused the pit bull for its few remaining days. The dog, introduced to the public as "Puppy Doe," was found near a playground in August 2013. He was later euthanized due to the severity of his injuries.

Following a two-month investigation, police identified Czerkawski, who at the time was living in the Quincy home of a woman he was taking care of, as the owner of the dog. He was taken into custody at a hotel in New Britain, Connecticut.

Since the arrest, Czerkawski was sentenced to three to five years in prison time for stealing $130,000 from the elderly woman he was hired to take care of and another three to five years for taking $4,500 from St. Lawrence Martyr Parish in New Bedford, where he had stayed for several months in 2012.

Image via Animal Rescue League