BUXTON – Animal welfare advocates and the Buxton police chief have decried a recent York County court agreement that likely will lead to all charges dismissed in an animal cruelty case.

In York County Superior Court in Alfred on March 17, John and Heidi Frasca, now Massachusetts residents, pleaded guilty to five counts each of cruelty to animals while they still claimed innocence, a plea known as an Alford plea. Under an Alford plea, the criminal defendant does not admit the act, but admits that the prosecution could likely prove the charge. This allows a defendant to accept a plea bargain while maintaining their innocence.

The court case was deferred for 17 months, after which all charges would be dismissed, if the couple avoids criminal activity.

The charges stemmed from a raid by Buxton police and state animal welfare agents in 2007 at a kennel the Frascas owned in Buxton. State officials said they seized 250 puppies and dogs, many of which they said were diseased.

But several people involved in the case complained on Friday they weren’t notified of last week’s court hearing. “I’m outraged and disappointed. I was not notified,” Buxton Police Chief Mike Grovo said in a press conference he called at Buxton Town Hall.

Grovo said Friday he still hadn’t received a call from York County District Attorney Kathryn Slattery or the prosecutor who handled the case. Grovo is seeking a meeting with the district attorney’s office. “I felt we were shut out,” Grovo said.

Several animal welfare advocates were also upset with the court agreement. “We were shocked,” Norma Worley, who retired in January as director of the state’s animal welfare program at the Department of Agriculture, said, and she called for the district attorney to meet with the department.

“I’m very disgusted,” Kelly Hill, an emergency veterinarian in Scarborough, said about results of the court hearing. “They got away scot-free.”

The Animal Welfare Society in Kennebunk was one of the shelters involved with caring for the seized dogs. On Friday, Steve Jacobsen, executive director of the society, said Maine has good laws regulating treatment of animals. “We did our jobs. It’s disappointing that the courts did not do theirs,” Jacobsen said.

The Frascas each had faced 25 counts of cruelty to animals.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Frascas must complete 60 hours of community service and they will be allowed to possess four animals. Monique Kramer, a veterinarian in Fryeburg, called it “a slap on the wrists.”