Cat Killer/Sexual Abuser Robert Farmer Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison

Robert Farmer will be behind bars 16 years for shocking crimes ... killing 21 cats and sexually abusing the carcass of one of them.

Farmer, who's dad is a retired captain from the San Jose PD, was apprehended at a Home Depot ... sleeping in his car with a dead cat in the center console. A necropsy revealed he had sexually abused the female tabby cat.

Police found chunks of fur and blood inside the car. They also found a backpack with fur-covered gloves and a hunting knife.