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I'm A Celebrity - News - D'Acampo 'charged with animal cruelty' - Digital Spy

D'Acampo 'charged with animal cruelty'

Sunday, December 6 2009, 07:06 GMT

By Catriona Wightman

Rex Features / ITV

Gino D'Acampo and Stuart Manning have reportedly been charged with animal cruelty.
The News of the World claims that the I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! contestants were arrested after leaving the show because of an incident in which they killed and ate a rat.
The Australian RSPCA, which has previously suggested that it would investigate the rat's death, asked ITV to hand over all their footage of the killing, including that which wasn't shown on television.
Show sources have also claimed that the rat might have been a tame animal introduced to the camp by producers.
"There were rats used for the bushtucker trials and they were as tame as hamsters," a source said. "They were used to human contact and not afraid like wild ones who would run away. The killing made for dramatic TV. But it's likely the animal was one of the trial rats."
Meanwhile, D'Acampo, who was previously jailed for two years after stealing guitars from Paul Young's home, was reportedly worried that he wouldn't be able to leave the country.
"Gino was detained so long his family, including his two young boys, had to travel back to the hotel without him," a source claimed. "He has previous convictions and is terrified of getting into more trouble with the authorities. But police say now he is free to go home."
ITV confirmed that the pair are being investigated, saying in a statement: "Australian RSPCA are currently looking into an incident in which a rat was killed in the camp."
D'Acampo and Manning have allegedly been told to appear in court on February 3. If sentenced, they could face up to three years in jail.