East Windsor Man Exposed South Jersey Puppy Mill In 2010: Reports

EAST WINDSOR TOWNSHIP, NJ - A South Jersey woman who faces multiple animal cruelty charges for killing a total of 45 dogs reportedly filed a defamation lawsuit against an East Windsor blogger who went on a tirade after buying a dog from her.

Donna Roberts, 65, of Shamong and her daughter, Dawn Abram, sued Clifford Mintz back in 2010, the Courier Post reports. Roberts has been charged with four counts of animal cruelty and 15 counts of unlawful confinement after 44 dead dogs were found in freezer bags in her home and another 161 dogs were found living in inhumane conditions. One of those dogs later died.

The lawsuit was dismissed shortly after it was filed, but the sides continued to fight over $2,000 Roberts and Abrams were ordered to pay Mintz in January 2018, according to the report.

Mintz bought a dog named “Moose” from Roberts and Abram in 2008. He thought he was buying a purebred Havanese, but later learned that “Moose” was an older, mixed breed dog, according to nj.com. He then criticized the women by saying they ran a puppy mill in a blog post, prompting the lawsuit.

The lawsuit - which the Humane Society of the United States joined in defense of Mintz - was dismissed on First Amendment grounds, according to the report. Mintz and the Humane Society had argued that Roberts and Abram were trying to prevent him from warning the public about their “unscrupulous practices.”

Mintz had begun posting after he researched Roberts and Abram online and found that Roberts had been implicated in consumer fraud claims and convicted of animal cruelty charges, according to Philly.com.

Eight years after that lawsuit was settled, the first criminal charges emerged against Roberts when she was arrested after authorities executed a search warrant at her house and discovered 44 deceased dogs in freezer bags stored in freezers throughout her home.

Another 161 dogs were found living in inhumane conditions. Four of those dogs were in critical condition, and one of those dogs died.

The search commenced after Shamong passed an ordinance designed to protect animals from abuse, but some members of the public questioned, "what took so long?" during a meeting of the township committee earlier this month.

Read more here: They Thought It Was A Paradise. Then They Heard The Dogs Cry

Read more here: South Jersey Woman Accused Of Killing 45 Dogs Faces More Charges

The attached image of Donna Roberts was previously provided by the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office.