Probation for man who pleads guilty to bestiality
Posted October 2, 2012 11:00 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A man has received a suspended sentence and a list of conditions after pleading guilty in BC Supreme Court to a single count of bestiality.
Thirty-seven-year-old Brian Cutteridge pleaded guilty, and lawyers for the Crown and defence submitted a joint-sentencing proposal.
Cutteridge will be on probation for the next three years. During that time, he is not allowed to own, possess, or care for any female dogs.
He’s not allowed to be alone indoors with the animals, except when he’s at work. The judge made an exception because he didn’t want the sentence to interfere with Cutteridge’s legal employment.
Cutteridge works for a waterproofing company and, until recently, had worked as a labourer for a temp agency. Court heard that he lost that job because of publicity from his court case.
“I have to admit we were hoping for a lifetime ban on him having access to, in the very least, female dogs,” says SPCA Animal Cruelty Investigator Marcie Moriarty. “I think that it’s going to be a challenge after the three years to ensure that he does not have access to female animals and does not return to performing these acts.”
Moriarty also expressed hope that Cutteridge seeks counseling for his behaviour.
The SPCA and RCMP began investigating this case in 2010, following a tip from a veterinarian who was concerned that Cutteridge might be a zoophile, a person who has sex with animals.
Investigators found no evidence suggesting wrongdoing against any of the three dogs Cutteridge owned at the time, but they did find videos and a pro-zoophilia paper the man wrote titled “For the Love of Dogs.”
The videos, dated between 1998 and 2005, depict seven to nine acts of bestiality involving two dogs Cutteridge used to own. The videos were not shown in court.
Despite the complaint by the vet in 2010, investigators found no evidence Cutteridge had been abusing the three dogs he owned at the time of his arrest. There is no evidence of bestiality past 2005, seen in one of the videos seized by police.
Two charges related to cruelty and harm against animals were stayed.
“Those were both stayed following the [preliminary hearing] which happened a number of months ago and they were stayed for good reason.” says Jason Mann, Cutteridge’s attorney. The investigation found no evidence of physical cruelty against the animals.
Along with his probation and ownership restrictions, Cutteridge must provide a list of animals he owns to the SPCA within seven days, and provide the agency with updates whenever that list changes.
He also must allow the SPCA access to his home and property, no more than once a month, to inspect any animals he owns.
The joint-sentencing submission did not request a DNA sample from Cutteridge, but the judge ordered one anyway for the national databank.
