Canines are well known as man’s best friend. And for most folks, it is indeed a relationship that retains the boundaries of just friendship.
However, a couple of sickos in Kentucky have allegedly violated that sacred bond between man and dog by engaging in a sexual relationship with their pet.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced last week that a Bracken County woman and a Mason County man have been indicted for sexual crimes against a non-human animal.
The indictments by a Mason County grand jury are believed to be Kentucky’s first charge of bestiality since passage of a 2019 state law making sexual crimes against an animal a Class D felony, punishable by one to five years in prison.
The suspects are Nolene Renee Horn, 44, and Christopher S. Jones, 50. They each face two counts of sexual crimes against an animal and two counts of torture of a dog, a Class A misdemeanor. The misdemeanor is punishable by 90 to 120 days in prison and a $500 fine.
“This type of heinous and obscene crime cannot go unpunished,” said Cameron. “I am grateful for the Maysville police department’s diligent investigation of this case, and our Office of Special Prosecutions is pleased to assist Mason County by prosecuting the case on behalf of the commonwealth.”
Kentucky’s 2019 General Assembly unanimously approved a bill sponsored by Senate Majority Caucus Chair Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, that outlawed bestiality. The new law took effect last June 27.
Efforts to criminalize sex between humans and animals in Kentucky had fallen short in legislative sessions before 2019.
Adams said there had been resistance to the legislation over property rights. She said there was a false fear that authorities could come onto a farm, inspect animals and possibly confiscate them.
Under the bill, sexual contact with non-human creatures means any act committed between a person and an animal for the purpose of sexual arousal, sexual gratification, abuse or financial gain.