Warning: This article contains details related to bestiality and may not be appropriate for all readers.

Sentencing has been has been delayed in a case of bestiality that occurred in Qualicum Beach last year. 

A sentencing hearing was held in provincial court in Nanaimo on Monday, Nov. 4, for the 34-year-old man B次元官网网址� whose name canB次元官网网址檛 be released because of a publication ban to protect the identities of his children and former spouse B次元官网网址� who had pleaded guilty to a charge of bestiality on June 4 of this year.

The incident happened the night of May 15, 2023, when his now ex-wife discovered him having sexual intercourse with the familyB次元官网网址檚 dog in the backyard of their home. Upon discovering the scene the woman told him to leave and when he refused, she called the RCMP. 

Crown counsel Brett Webber told the court that the offender met the officers in the driveway and told them what had happened. He was then arrested on bestiality charges. Webber said the arresting officer noted the offender admitted to having consumed six beers, smelled like alcohol and had glassy eyes, but was co-operative and coherent. 

Webber said the offenderB次元官网网址檚 ex-wife told police the offender appeared to have been drinking alcohol that day and his mood had gone from B次元官网网址渆xtremely calm to extremely angryB次元官网网址� so she put their children to bed and came back outside to look for him where he said he would be picking up dog feces. She found him outside and told him to go to bed. He went inside for a moment but then went back outside. 

B次元官网网址淪he observed [offender] bent over the dog and had him by the hind legs,B次元官网网址� Webber said. B次元官网网址淗e told [ex-wife] that he was killing [the dog] because he had been problematic.B次元官网网址�

Police took the dog to a veterinary hospital where a sex assault kit was used to collect forensic evidence samples. The defence lawyer, Michael Ritzker, argued against submitting the forensic reports as evidence when his client had already pleaded guilty. 

B次元官网网址淭o re-prove the guilt at a sentencing hearing, in my respectful submission, is not of any utility,B次元官网网址� Ritzker said. B次元官网网址淭his case has its own sensationalism that is structured into the charge.B次元官网网址�

Because the rape of the dog was an isolated incident and the offender has no criminal record or sexual offence history, finding a precedent in case law to determine an appropriate sentence is proving difficult, Crown counsel said.

The offenderB次元官网网址檚 former wife read victim impact statements to express the trauma she has suffered from the incident and said, breaking down into tears at times, that she suffers flashbacks and intrusive thoughts that trigger B次元官网网址渦ncontrollable vomitingB次元官网网址� and vivid nightmares.  

B次元官网网址淓ven in my dreams IB次元官网网址檓 not safe from the memories of that night,B次元官网网址� she said.

For the first month and a half following the incident she had another adult sleep over in her home, fearing retaliation from her ex-husband for calling the police. She said she is in therapy to help her through the trauma.

B次元官网网址淎t some point our children will be wiser and want to know to the truth about why their father had to abruptly leave their lives,B次元官网网址� she said.

At one point the offender briefly apologized to his ex-wife and her family.

Much of the afternoon session of the sentencing hearing was taken up by an inconsistency in the guilty partyB次元官网网址檚 statement to police over how much alcohol heB次元官网网址檇 consumed the day of the offence versus his claim during a psychological examination when he said he had no memory of the incident because heB次元官网网址檇 consumed 24 beer, a 26-ounce bottle of Fireball whisky and up to three grams of magic mushrooms. The contradiction raised the question whether the offender could have been in a state of a drug induced psychosis when he committed the offence. The psychologist and the arresting officer will be asked to appear before the court for further comment Tuesday, Nov. 12. 

The sentencing hearing started with the announcement from defence counsel that he had been dismissed by his client 20 minutes before the hearing commenced, but the lawyer returned as the offenderB次元官网网址檚 representative after the court took a short break. 

The penalty for a charge of bestiality is a fine of up to $5,000 and incarceration of up to two years less one day.