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Rohr pleads guilty to abusing horses, gets one-year sentence
Attorney says Southlake physician has sold her herd of 200
Aug 21, 2004, SOUTHLAKE, Texas -- For four years police have been investigating Dr. Elizabeth Rohr for allegedly abusing horses.
Two years ago, authorities charged the Southlake physician with a crime.
In that time, however, she had always eluded a jail sentence – until Tuesday.
A Wise County judge sentenced Dr. Rohr to one year in jail for mistreating her horses and violating probation.
After reaching a plea agreement, Dr. Rohr emerged handcuffed from the courthouse defiant and unapologetic.
"That's justice in America," she told reporters.
Dr. Rohr, 44, pleaded guilty to 17 counts of misdemeanor animal abuse charges and two counts of probation violation.
Her attorney said she had sold the animals.
Gerald Staton said his client wanted to resolve her criminal charges in Wise County.
"It's not about justice, it's about damage control," Mr. Staton said.
Wise County prosecutor Greg Lowery said the plea deal justly concludes the case.
"If you violated the same offense, you're showing the court you didn't learn anything from the leniency you were given in the first place," Mr. Lowery said.
Dr. Rohr was sentenced to two years' probation last year after pleading no contest to animal-abuse charges. She was ordered to return to court after probation violation charges were filed against her in June for allegedly abusing horses on her Paradise ranch.
Carol Fowler, the fiancée of Dr. Rohr's ex-husband, said they are left with the unpleasant task of telling Dr. Rohr's young children their mother is in jail.
"They are making get-well cards for her because they've been told that she is sick," Ms. Fowler said. "I'm not happy to see anybody go to jail. This is going to be hard on them. We want a mother who can be part of their lives."
Dr. Rohr's estranged sister, Ginny Wilcox, said the Wise County case ended with no winners.
"This has been nothing but agony," Ms. Wilcox said. "I have a lot of mixed feelings. I didn't want my sister to go to jail. I didn't want her to lose her children. I just wanted her to stop abusing the horses."
Steve Wass, Dr. Rohr's fiancé, said he would wait for her no matter how long the sentence.
"We will get married even if she's in jail," Mr. Wass said.
Dr. Rohr was transferred Tuesday back to the Denton County Jail, where she is being held on five counts of interfering with child custody after she fled with her five young children last week, violating a judge's order.
It's unclear where she will serve the one-year jail sentence. The Wise County jail is under construction.
Mr. Wass said Dr. Rohr recently authorized the sale of her horses to the manager of her Paradise ranch.
Dr. Rohr had a herd of 200 horses, including eight that were transported last week from her property in Southlake to Wise County, Mr. Staton said.
Mr. Wass said some of the money from the sale was used to pay her ranch manager back salary. Some of the money went into an account to manage the ranch.
He declined to specify the dollar amount of the sale.
Mr. Wass said Dr. Rohr granted him power of attorney and permission to sell the animals.
"She doesn't like it, obviously," he said, of her emotions. "But she's in jail because of those horses. I believe it's in her best interest."
He said, for now, most of the herd would remain in Wise County.
Last week, a Denton County judge ordered Dr. Rohr to turn over custody of her five minor children to her ex-husband, Dr. Craig Saunders of Keller.
Instead, Dr. Rohr fled to San Benito in South Texas with the children, saying her ex-husband abused them. Dr. Saunders has denied the charges.
Dr. Rohr was arrested Aug. 25 in San Benito after police issued an Amber Alert. The children were unharmed and reunited with their father.
She is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Denton County on additional animal-cruelty charges.
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