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A bank worker from Northern Ireland has appeared in court in the US facing allegations he tortured a cat.

Declan Garrity, who is believed to be from Omagh, Co Tyrone, was arraigned in Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday, according to reports in the New York media.

The 24-year-old, who works as a financial analyst, was charged with felony animal cruelty for abuse it is alleged he subjected a cat named Lucy. The animal is a pet of a flatmate and is now on life support, according to police and prosecutors.

The feline suffered fractured hind legs and bruises on her back, the New York Daily News reports. It was also reported yesterday that the alleged abuse had been going on for some time.

A criminal complaint filed by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, and seen by Belfast Live, outlines the details of the allegations including a vet’s report which listed numerous injuries.

The complaint states that last November Garrity moved into an apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The apartment was already occupied by another person, and that person’s cat, named Lucy.

The complaint says that Garrity’s roommate told police that “shortly after [Garrity] moved into the apartment, the individual observed Lucy’s behavior change, including hiding in the individual’s bedroom closet, not eating and constantly licking her paws”.

On January 25, according to the complaint, Garrity told his roommate that “an iron had fell on the cat” while the roommate was at work. Lucy was found to have a broken pelvis after that incident, according to the document.

The complaint also states that “on or about the morning of February 20, 2016, the individual (flatmate) returned from work and observed that Lucy was hiding in her carrier, that her rear foot was facing the wrong direction, that Lucy was damp and missing hair”.

It adds: “I am further informed that the individual observed paper towels on the bedroom vanity with cat hair and blood.”

The complaint also outlines the findings of a vet’s examination of the cat which found that she had suffered a dislocated and fracture bone in her leg, several broken ribs, broken teeth, burns across various areas of her body, as well as broken claws.

Garrity was charged by prosecutors with “torturing and injuring animals". He was also charged with two counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, with one of those counts accusing him of acting “in depraved/sadistic manner,” according to court documents.

Garrity was arraigned Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court. He was ordered held on $5,000 bail, which he had not posted as of midday Thursday, according to the city Department of Correction’s database. He is next due in court Monday.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help pay for vet bills which are believed to be around $10,000.