New London ― The animal cruelty case against two Glastonbury teens charged with maiming a federally-protected species of egret at Ocean Beach Park is getting increased scrutiny in the form of court-appointed animal advocates.

New London Superior Court Judge Patrick Caruso last week approved the appointment of legal advocates from the University of Connecticut School of Law who are expected to observe and make recommendations on the outcome of the case.

UConn School of Law professor Jessica Rubin, said with the historically high rate of animal cruelty cases dismissed or not prosecuted, advocates will give the case the attention it deserves.

“Sometimes that’s what it takes to shine a light on how a case is progressing,” Rubin said.

Rubin, director of UConn School of Law’s Animal Law Clinic, was instrumental in the creation of what is known as Desmond’s Law, a statute passed by the state legislature in 2016 in light of the low conviction rates in animal cruelty cases. Between 2006 and 2016, 80% of the 3,723 animal cruelty cases were either dismissed or not prosecuted.

The state statute, named after an abused dog who was killed in 2012 and whose killer was able to avoid any prison time, was the first of its kind in the country at the time. It passed with the advocacy from former state representative Diana Urban, who represented Stonington and North Stonington, and pointed to the strong link between those who abuse animals and commit domestic violence.

Since its passage, supervised law students or lawyers working for free have been showing up at a host of animal cruelty cases, most involving cats and dogs. Advocates can provide legal research and recommendations on use of diversionary programs.

Rubin said this case was interesting because it raises issues at the intersection of criminal law and environmental protection. It should prove to be a good learning tool for UConn’s Animal Law Clinic students, she said.

“It will be interesting to see how the state proceeds,” she said.

The two 18-year-old men are charged in the July 3 attack, Parker Wallace and Benjamin Pavano of Glastonbury, each made initial court appearances but have yet to enter pleas. They are charged with felony animal cruelty, or the malicious maiming, torturing or killing of an animal, a class D felony.

A police report obtained this week through a Freedom of Information request by The Day, shows the two were identified as the suspects who threw rocks at and attacked an egret near Alewife Cove at Ocean Beach Park.

Police said witnesses identified two men, one in red shorts and another in pink shorts, who were among a group of five “sitting on the New London side of the creek shouting and drinking alcohol,” police said.

One witness told police he saw the two men throw rocks at an egret. Both the snowy egret and great egret - it is unclear which species the injured bird was - are listed as a threatened species by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

“One of the suspects then grabbed the bird and the other boy joined ‘rough housing’ it. (The witness) then stated that one of the boys grabbed the bird by its neck and could hear them shout ‘get it, get it,” the police report states.

When a witness ran towards the two men, police said the two men started to walk away and said “we just wanted to pet the bird.” The two men then started to run and the witnessed informed the Ocean Beach lifeguards, who contacted police and sought out the men to kick them off the beach.

One witness joined lifeguards to chase one of men into the parking lot.

Police said lifeguards found the injured bird which was attempting to flap its wings and stand up but kept “flopping over,” and could not straighten its neck.

“I also observed it attempt to stand up, then fall down. The egret was able to hop onto the marsh, but fell several more times,” New London Police Officer Christina Nocita wrote in her report.

Police, at an unidentified home near Ocean Beach Park, were speaking with Pavano and another man identifeid as “suspect #2” in police reports. Wallace told officers it was him and not the man identified as “suspect #2” who had injured the bird. Wallace told officers he had switched shorts with “suspect #2.”

“Suspect #2,” despite initially being identified by a witness as one of the culprits, was eventually released after Wallace provided a statement confessing that he and Pavano “chased some seagulls into the water” until they were yelled at by a witness.

The egret was never found despite a search by neighbors, lifeguards and DEEP representatives.

Last week’s court appearances were attended by UConn teaching fellow Tara Cooley and Alewife Cove Conservancy founder and co-chairman Edward Lamoureux.

Lamoureux said he was at court to represent the non-profit group which is “dedicated to the protection, preservation and enhancement of Alewife Cove and all the wildlife in and around it.“

“Everybody in the Alewife Cove Conservancy and the community was extremely disturbed and distraught over this very unfortunate incident,” he said. ”It really touched a lot of people’s heartstrings.“

g.smith@theday.com