SERIAL ANIMAL ABUSERS STEPHEN AND RACHEL STURMAN SENTENCED IN DEVON

Stephen Sturman, born around 1963, a known serial animal abuser and hoarder from Iddesleigh, Winkleigh EX19, and his wife Rachel Sturman, born July 1971 of Okehampton, West Devon, have been convicted for their mistreatment of dogs. The couple kept 18 collie dogs in deplorable conditions inside a caravan.

Police were called to the caravan in February 2024 after reports that Stephen Sturman was missing. Officers initially faced resistance from Rachel Sturman, who refused entry but eventually allowed police inside. There, officers discovered dogs that were severely malnourished, suffering from neglect, anxiety, and fear. Veterinary assessments confirmed that three dogs had died after being attacked by other dogs.

Two deceased dogs were found dumped in bags in the garden, while a third was left just feet from the caravan and had been trodden on as the couple came and went. Both Sturmans pleaded guilty to cruelty charges concerning the 18 collie dogs, failure to prevent two dogs from being attacked and killed, and neglecting the needs of all the dogs. The surviving animals have since been rehomed.

Prosecutors highlighted that the dogs mainly slept on the owners’ beds inside the caravan, with only three of them having been outside. District Judge Stuart Smith described the conditions as “appalling,” stating, “The condition of the dogs was horrific and horrendous. I have never seen an environment in such an appalling state. The caravan was utterly uninhabitable.”

During the hearing, solicitor Rob Jacobs, representing Rachel Sturman, said, “She loved those animals like they were her own. She was trapped in that situation and that relationship. No one can live like that but that is how she was living.”

In sentencing, Rachel Sturman received a 10-month jail term suspended for 18 months, along with a 15-year ban on owning animals. Stephen Sturman was sentenced to 12 months in jail and received a lifetime ban on keeping animals. Both were ordered to pay £2,000 each towards the RSPCA’s costs.

Additional background information shows that in June 2018, Stephen Sturman was banned from keeping cats for 10 years after a similar case of neglect was discovered, including the discovery of a dead cat alongside two emaciated surviving cats. RSPCA inspector Jim Farr described the conditions at Sturman’s Bridestowe home as “appalling,” with years of accumulated waste and an overpowering smell. Farr noted, “The body of a dead cat was found alongside Alice and Poppy, the two surviving cats, who were both emaciated. It’s heartbreaking to see such conditions, and the RSPCA’s intervention ensured the cats could be rehomed and given a second chance.”