Women from Ocean County, NJ, receive short prison sentences in animal cruelty case

Two Ocean County women face less than a year in prison in connection with an animal cruelty case.

Authorities announced Friday that 60-year-old Michele Nycz and 51-year-old Aimee Lonczak, both of Brick Township, were each sentenced to 364 days in the Ocean County Jail, with a four-year suspended sentence, after pleading guilty to two counts of animal cruelty.

In the same investigation, Lonczak was also sentenced to 364 days in prison for child neglect. The two sentences will be served concurrently.

Both women will also be banned from owning animals forever and will be required to do community service.

On December 2, 2022, Brick Township Police Officers were called to a home on Arrowhead Park Drive after receiving an anonymous complaint about a puppy mill.

While speaking with the home's residents, Lonczak and Nycz, officers noticed a strong odor coming from the house and heard barking. Once inside the home, officers were confronted with an “intense odor and unsanitary conditions” and found numerous animal cages containing dogs and cats.

Eventually, officers removed about 129 dogs and 43 cats, as well as the bodies of two dead dogs, from the house.

Lonczak and Nycz, both of whom were staying at the apartment with Lonczak's 16-year-old child, were taken into custody without incident and transported to the Ocean County Jail. They were both released under bail reform guidelines.