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Racine County Circuit Court Judge Michael Piontek handed down the sentence on Monday.
Petersen-Zich pleaded no contest to the charges in October and had agreed to a plea deal between her attorney and Racine County prosecutors that called for her serving 18 months probation. The judge was not bound to uphold that agreement.
The Racine County District Attorney’s Office initially charged Petersen-Zich and her with child neglect, and 16 counts of animal mistreatment — intentional or negligent after finding 14 cats and two dogs “living in squalor.” However, a number of those charges were dropped during the hearing process.
