A Vancouver man has been arrested for torturing a kitten, after video was discovered on a used cellphone that had been sold.

Jordan Lucas has been charged with one count of animal cruelty, according to Marcie Moriarty, the B.C. SPCA's general manager of cruelty investigations.

"On April 26th, we were contacted by a woman who had purchased a used cellphone," said Moriarty in statement issued on Friday.

"To her horror, the cellphone still contained a video lasting more than 50 minutes of a helpless kitten being violently abused and tortured."

The abuse included throwing the kitten against furniture, punching, slapping, strangling, asphyxiation and spinning the black and white kitten around with a cord around its neck. At several points during the video, the kitten groaned and cried and appeared to be injured and disoriented, said Moriarty.

"On the video only a male’s hands are visible, but the left hand had a distinctive tattoo."

The SPCA then worked with the Vancouver police to trace the phone and identify the suspect.

Jordan Lucas was arrested in Richmond on Thursday and transferred to Vancouver for a bail hearing on Friday.

The maximum sentence for animal cruelty is five years in jail, a fine of up to $10,000 and up to a lifetime prohibition of owning or having custody of animal.