Two teenage girls in Maine denied charges of animal cruelty after putting an 8-week-old kitten in the microwave, WCVB-TV reported.
The South Portland teens, who were charged in September, entered a not guilty plea in juvenile court on Thursday.
According to the Portland Press Herald, Judge Keith Powers ordered both defendants to undergo a psychiatric evaluation and released them into the custody of their parents, with conditions, until their June 2 court date.
"Torturing an animal is a marker for some serious behavioral problems but we don't know if these defendants fit that profile," said Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson.
Eric Cote, an attorney for the girls, argued they had no malicious intention in harming the kitten and claimed to only put it inside for a few seconds.
"They were just doing something they thought was funny," Cote said. "They wanted to make movies. They were playing ... I think they didn't understand what took place here."
A video of the incident was uploaded to Vine, a social media app for short videos, and prompted intense outrage around the world. According to the girls' parents, they were harassed at school and received death threats. Additionally, one anonymous commenter said the teens and their parents should be "slowly cut and bled to death."
Though they were initially dealt a misdemeanor charge of cruelty to animals, it eventually changed to aggravated assault to animals -- a felony -- after the kitten's health worsened.
"The kitten certainly would have died, but for the aggressive and somewhat invasive treatment she received at the (Animal Refuge League)," a statement said.
The feline survived the incident and was adopted afterwards.
"I've been involved in cases with very bad people who did kill cats. That is a sign of a very bad personality," Cote told the Herald. "These girls don't appear to have any intention of doing that."
