Johnny Depp’s wife, Amber Heard, Faces Jail Time In Australia Dog-Smuggling Case
Johnny Depp’s wife, Amber Heard, is in the dog house this week in Australia for illegally bringing the couple’s dogs into the country.
Heard has been formally charged after the model was called out two months ago by Australia’s agriculture minister, who said either that Johnny Depp get the dogs out of the country or they would face death, as previously reported by The Inquisitr.
On Thursday, the Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions said Johnny Depp’s wife was charged with two counts of illegally importing the couple’s dogs, Pistol and Boo, into Australia and one count of producing a false document. The latter charge comes for not declaring the dogs upon entry into the country, according to the Associated Press.
The charges are serious, and Amber Heard could receive the maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of 102,000 Australian dollars ($75,000) if found guilty of the importation charges. She also faces another hefty fine if convicted of the false document charge.
Doggie debacle: Johnny Depp’s wife charged with smuggling dogs into Australia http://t.co/YkfTlITook (AP photo) pic.twitter.com/aHPCmg8n3U
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) July 16, 2015
Heard was issued a summons to appear in a Queensland court on Sept. 7.
Depp’s wife may have some saving grace from the court, considering she heeded the warnings of the Minister of Agriculture and flew the pooches out of the county before the 72-hour deadline arrived. Even if she is convicted, Heard is unlikely to face a lengthy jail term since the dogs were flown back to the U.S. before the deadline, according to Bill Potts, a criminal defense attorney based in the Queensland capital, Brisbane.
“The seriousness of the offense is not whether two little puppies — who look like they could give you a nasty nip on the ankle — are dreadful animals, it’s about the risk to biosecurity. Was there a risk? Potentially, but not actually. And I’m sure the court will take all of those things into account.”
Although Johnny Depp and Amber Heard brought the dogs into Australia in May while Depp films the fifth movie in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, only Amber Heard has been charged because the dogs are registered in her name, according to a report on the Today Show.
Amber Heard, wife of Johnny Depp, faces charges over Australia dog scandal. http://t.co/jKWRDOo8NY pic.twitter.com/Ek9HsTLw5S
— CNN (@CNN) July 16, 2015
Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said he was upholding Australia’s strict importation laws in the Johnny Depp dog-smuggling case because even celebrities are not exempt from abiding by the law.
“If we start letting movie stars — even though they’ve been the sexiest man alive twice — to come into our nation (with pets), then why don’t we just break the laws for everybody? It’s time that Pistol and Boo buggered off back to the United States.”
Joyce’s comments were parodied worldwide, and a petition to save Pistol and Boo was circulated. Even a social media campaign was started with the hashtag #WarOnTerrier.
In an interview last month with Australia’s Channel 7, Johnny Depp’s wife didn’t let pending charges faze her and said she and husband Depp planned to avoid Australia as much as possible in the future “thanks to certain politicians there.”
“I guess everyone tries to go for their 15 minutes, including some government officials.”
What is your take on Johnny Depp’s wife, Amber Heard’s predicament? Should she face jail time?
[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]
