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Accused Animal Abuser Faces New Charges in Virginia

VANDLING, Pa. — A man wanted for animal cruelty in Lackawanna County is locked up in Virginia on unrelated charges.

VANDLING, Pa. -- A man wanted on assault charges in Lackawanna County was arrested on unrelated charges in Virginia.

Christopher Skorets, 19, of Vandling is accused of throwing seven cats out of the second-floor window of his apartment last month and also abandoning a dog. Investigators say Skorets was fighting with his girlfriend and told her he was going to kill her and her three children.

Police have been looking for Skorets for the past two weeks.

He's now locked up in Virginia Beach on sexual assault and other serious charges.

Julie Snedeker now lives in Skorets' former apartment in Vandling.

"We walked in here, me and my father-in-law, for two seconds, and we got attacked by fleas," Snedeker said.

Neighbors say they had been cleaning up after Skorets even before he left.

"It's about time. It really is about time. It was hell living next to them," neighbor Paul Rixford said.

Neighbors say the filth was only part of the problem. They would constantly hear Skorets fighting with his girlfriend and the children.

"They were constantly asking for their mommy. Chris was doing this. Chris was doing that. You know, he was trying to hurt them. He was hurting them all," said neighbor Beth Tayburn.

Skorets fled the area two weeks ago after police filed animal cruelty charges.

He's now locked up in Virginia Beach on even more serious charges including abduction, sexually assaulting a child with mental disabilities, and strangulation.

His neighbors back in Vandling aren't surprised.

"They were screaming outside the one night. She said that he stabbed her, and all my kids heard it, and this was at like 11 o'clock at night. It was really bad, and I'm just glad they're really gone," Rixford added.

Police say the children are with a relative and did not go to Virginia with Skorets.

Skorets is locked up in Virginia Beach without bail.

Police don't know when, or even if, he may be brought back to our area to face the animal cruelty charges.

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