17-year-old Warren male again charged with bestiality on same small dog

WARREN

The detective handling a new bestiality complaint involving a Homewood Avenue teen says the same youth committed the same offense against the same small dog last year.

Aside from questions about how he was able to gain access to the Chihuahua-Dachshund mix again after being convicted the last time, detective Nick Carney of the Warren Police Department is concerned about potential human victims.

“... if you would do this to an animal, what would you do to a small child?” Carney said.

Carney said the 17-year-old male was placed on probation after being convicted in juvenile court of animal cruelty. The facts in that case were nearly identical to the new charge except that at that time, Warren’s new bestiality law was not in place, Carney said.

Carney said he believes the new charges are a violation of the youth’s probation.

Bestiality is a first-degree misdemeanor. Animal cruelty is a second-degree misdemeanor. The state’s new bestiality law makes bestiality a second-degree misdemeanor.

Bestiality and animal cruelty have different penalties, said Jason Cooke of Boardman, who was the chief proponent behind Warren’s decision to become the first city in Ohio to enact a bestiality law in June 2016.

Read more about the matter in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.