Sad dog behind fence (stock Photo)
FRANKFORT, KY – Attorney General Daniel Cameron on Tuesday, November 24, 2020 announced that a prosecution by his Office of Special Prosecutions led to the conviction of two Kentuckians for sexual crimes against an animal. This case is believed to be Kentucky’s first conviction of bestiality since the General Assembly passed Senate Bill 67, making sexual crimes against an animal a Class D felony.
On Monday, November 23, in Mason County Circuit Court, Nolene Renee Horn, age 44, of Bracken County and Christopher S. Jones, age 50, of Mason County pled guilty to:
- Two counts of sexual crimes against an animal, a Class D Felony
- Two counts of torture of a dog, a Class A Misdemeanor
Judge Stockton B. Wood is scheduled to determine sentencing on February 22, 2021.
“I am thankful to the Maysville Police Department and the Boone County Sheriff’s Office for their investigative work, which laid the foundation for our Office of Special Prosecutions to secure a conviction on behalf of the Commonwealth,” said Attorney General Cameron. “I am also grateful to the General Assembly for passing Senate Bill 67 last year and ensuring appropriate state penalties exist to address this sort of terrible crime.”
In June of this year, Horn and Jones were indicted by a Mason Circuit Court Grand Jury on two counts of sexual crimes against an animal, a Class D Felony, and two counts of torture of a dog, a Class A Misdemeanor.
The Maysville Police Department and the Boone County Sheriff’s office investigated the case, and Assistant Attorney General Rewa Zakharia of the Attorney General’s Office of Special Prosecutions prosecuted the case on behalf of the Commonwealth.
On June 27, 2019, Senate Bill 67 took effect in Kentucky, making sexual crimes against an animal a Class D felony.
