Some cases are harder to report on than others. 

Today I’m posting one of the saddest “bestiality” accounts ever. I see a lot in the work that I do. I hear a lot. Read a lot. Some days are more difficult than others. This story is one of those.

In late February last year, an 11-year-old boy was found beaten to death and abandoned in a car left in a motel parking lot. The details are beyond repeating other than to say that he was beaten almost daily by his mother’s boyfriend and had been forced to commit bestiality at least once. His sister was sexually abused by both their mother, Stormy Loraine Jones, and her boyfriend. Corey Trumbull. The couple has been arrested and charged with capital murder, along with other charges.

Aside from the horrific nature of this story, what also makes me sad is that this is not unlike a 2019 case in Pennsylvania, where Lisa Rachelle Snyder hung her 8-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter, apparently because they were a hindrance to her sexual relationship with a man she met online. For weeks prior to the double murder, Snyder sent him messages and explicit images of herself having sex with the family’s PitBull mix. Snyder is still awaiting trial. The judge has recently signaled that he may disallow evidence about the “dog sex charges” because they may unfairly prejudice the jury. Did I mention the children were hung with dog leads?

I wish these were the only examples, but sadly that’s not the case. A Louisiana man who filmed himself and others having sex with dogs, drugged, raped and killed a co-worker in 2019. In another Louisiana case, a young woman and her boyfriend strangled and killed a man in 2015 who had forced her as a child to watch bestiality videos while he molested and raped her.  In New Mexico, a sexual predator tortured and killed multiple women inside a cargo container until 1999; some of the women were strapped to a table and raped by his German Shepherd.

There is an abundance of research to demonstrate that animal cruelty is positively linked to interpersonal violence and murder. There is also a growing body of research suggesting that viewing deviant pornography or being exposed to animal sex abuse as a child may lead to contact sexual offenses with animals and humans later in life.

There’s so much more to be done, starting with awareness than bestiality is a form of sexual abuse; that evidence of an interest in sex with animals should not be dismissed as salacious or too disturbing for a jury to see, and that strong enforceable laws are vital to the safety of our communities. It pains me to tell you that although 48 U.S. states have specific laws prohibiting bestiality, half of those states consider it a misdemeanor crime like loitering or littering. Among the 25 states with felony laws, primarily they are low-level felonies with penalties similar to those given for trespass or DUIs. Although some states can impose jail sentences of five years or more, that virtually never happens regardless of the circumstances in the case. In fact, it’s common for bestiality charges to be dropped altogether.

 I hope you will continue to monitor this site and that you will reach out if you need help. I hope you will support legislation that creates stronger laws. And I trust you will report to the nearest law enforcement agency if you suspect an animal is being sexually abused