CHINO, Calif. -- One of the two men shown on undercover videotape abusing cattle -- an action that prompted the largest food recall in American history -- has accepted a plea bargain and will be jailed for six months and then deported.

Beef Recall Distribution In California

Rafael Sanchez Herrera pleaded guilty Friday to three misdemeanor counts of illegal movement of a non-ambulatory animal -- the official way of saying he used a forklift and other abusive methods to try to get "downer cattle" up on their own and back into the nation's food supply.

Jan. 30 Video: Alleged Cow Abuse Investigated | Images (Warning: Contains Graphic Content)

Herrera was a former worker at the now-defunct Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. in Chino, where dairy cattle at the end of their useful life were slaughtered and processed into hamburger on an industrial scale.

Undercover video shot by a worker for the Humane Society of the United States showed Herrera and another man shooting water into a downed cow's nostrils, and shocking and using other illegal means to try to move sick cattle into the slaughterhouse.

The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reported that Herrera took the deal because "the public sympathy wasn't going to be on his side," said his lawyer, Mario Martinez. Herrera has told reporters he did not know his acts were illegal, and that his boss had told him to get the cattle into the slaughterhouse.

Herrera was also sentenced Friday on two minor drug charges from 2003 and will serve those terms concurrently with his 180-day sentence in San Bernardino County's jail system.

After that, Herrera will be handed over to federal authorities for deportation to his native Mexico.

The U.S. government is bearing the expense of recalling 143 million pounds of ground beef, which had been distributed to schools nationwide as part of the national school lunch program.

Most of the meat, however, has already been consumed, and the federal government scientists have said from the beginning that the beef caused no illnesses, and that tests of samples have uncovered no pathogens or other unacceptable substances in the food.

Previous Stories:

• March 11, 2008: County To Investigate Labor Practices At Chino Slaughterhouse
• March 1, 2008: Report: Chino Meat Workers Threatened With Termination
• February 21, 2008: Third Of Recalled Chino Beef Went To Schools
• February 18, 2008: Largest Beef Recall In US History Emanates From Chino Factory
• February 1, 2008: Restaurants, Schools Ban SoCal Meat After Graphic Cow Video
• February 1, 2008: Schools Drop Beef Products After Meat Supplier Allegations