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Sex Crimes

Brent E. Turvey, in Criminal Profiling (Fourth Edition), 2012

Bestiality

Bestiality, also referred to as zooerasty, refers to any sexual act with an animal, while zoophilia, or preferential bestiality, refers to “a clear preference for engaging in sex with animals” (Earls and Lalumiere, 2009, p. 605). In some jurisdictions, bestiality, or animal molestation and cruelty, are crimes all on their own. In others, bestiality may be treated as a property crime, and the offender charged only with trespassing.

Consider the following case example in the United States, taken from Sullivan (2005):

Police began investigating James Tait, 54, and another man who lived at the rural Southeast King County farm after the Seattle man died of injuries suffered during intercourse with a horse at a neighboring farm, Enumclaw police said.

The criminal-trespassing charge stems from a July 2 bestiality session involving Tait, the 45-year-old Seattle man and a horse in a neighbor’s barn, charging papers say. According to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, the Seattle man died of acute peritonitis due to perforation of the colon. …

King County prosecutors say it’s the most-severe charge they could file; Washington is one of more than a dozen states that does not outlaw bestiality.

“There is no evidence of injury to the animal to support animal-cruelty charges,” said Dan Satterberg, the county prosecutor’s chief of staff. “This is the only crime we can charge.”

When interviewed by The Seattle Times July 15, the horse’s owners said they had known their neighbors for years. The couple, who asked to have their names withheld to protect their privacy, said they were shocked when police showed them a home video of the July 2 incident that investigators seized from their neighbor’s home. The couple identified their barn and their horse.

According to the King County Sheriff’s Office, which also investigated, the farm was known in Internet chat rooms as a destination for people who want to have sex with livestock. Authorities didn’t learn about the farm until July 2, when a man drove to Enumclaw Community Hospital seeking medical assistance for a companion. Medics wheeled the Seattle man into an examination room and realized he was dead. When hospital workers looked for the man who had dropped him off, he was gone, Enumclaw police said.

Using the dead man’s driver’s license to track down relatives and acquaintances, investigators were led to the Enumclaw farm.

Because the other man who lived at the farm wasn’t there the night the Seattle man died, he wasn’t charged with trespassing, Satterberg said. Tait will be arraigned Oct. 27; he faces up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine if convicted. …

In the wake of the man’s death, State Sen. Pam Roach, R-Auburn has said she plans to draft legislation making bestiality illegal in Washington.

It should be noted that, historically, bestiality has been treated as an extremely rare phenomenon without a great many preferential offenders. Case studies of curious and inexperienced rural adolescents abound. However, the Internet has given researchers a valuable tool for researching the subject with more accuracy and insight. As explained in Earls and Lalumiere (2009, p. 607),

More recently, investigations of zoophilia have moved beyond the case study method. There have been several quantitative group studies of community samples. The emergence of these studies is due in large part to the availability of Internet sites devoted to zoophilia or bestiality. Although one must be wary of reports from sometimes unverifiable sources, the internet provides an unparalleled source of potentially zoophilic individuals from the general community. … The group studies conducted to date suggest that some men and women who admit having had sex with animals have a clear preference for such activities. In addition, the data obtained from Internet surveys reveal that sex with animals is rarely a substitute for sex with humans, and that many respondents live happy and productive lives.

Because of the recent window offered into human sexual behavior and preferences by the Internet, bestiality is among the many types of sex crimes that are entering an era of more accurate research. At the very least, we have learned that it is more common, and more preferential, than has been previously suggested.

Zoophilia — Implications.

An exploratory, descriptive study of 82 men and 11 women who have had sexual relations with animals reveals that the majority of its subjects report being happy and not wanting to change. The study involved a 350-item, 23-page, anonymous questionnaire which was self-administered and returned via postal mail. Subjects reported that acceptance of their bestiality and zoophilia is the most important factor for their sense of well-being. Clinically, it appears that in most cases of true zoophilia, this condition is not treatable; the sexual acting out can be stopped when the person is highly motivated, but the attraction and the desire will always be there. Zoophiles may come to the attention of sex therapists, counselors, and educators for a variety of other reasons. Living a life of secrecy, as many zoo nophiles do, can lead to many psychological issues such as depression, anxiety, feelings of isolation, and suicide ideation. However, many will not reveal their true selves unless they feel they can trust the mental health professional to be confidential, nonjudgmental, open-minded, and accepting. It is therefore imperative to learn more about the phenomena of bestiality and zoophilia so that sex therapists, counselors, and educators can understand zoophiles’ therapeutic needs, and be able to discuss these issues with clients and students in a supportive, empathic manner.