LOUDONVILLE, Ohio — An Ashland County dog breeder is facing disturbing new allegations after his second arrest in less than two weeks. The 10 new charges include animal cruelty and sexual conduct with an animal.
Body camera footage from the Ashland County Sheriff's Office shows investigators placing the 64-year-old under arrest Tuesday at his Loudonville property.
He was arraigned in Ashland Municipal Court on Wednesday on one count of torture, torment or committing an act of cruelty against an animal, one count of depriving a companion animal of sustenance, six counts of cruelty to a companion animal and one count of engaging in sexual conduct with an animal.
All of the charges are misdemeanors, and News 5 is not currently identifying the man.
"Those offenses range from general neglect of animal care… so things such as parasitic infection, matting, urine scalding and lack of sufficient food and water," said DanaMarie Pannella, a special prosecutor for the case.
She said the charges stem from an unrelated investigation that led to evidence in this case. Among the accusations, the sexual conduct charge alleges the defendant “did knowingly engage in sexual conduct with an animal or knowingly possess, sell or purchase an animal with the intent that it be subjected to sexual conduct.”
"Right now in Ohio, bestiality is a second degree misdemeanor unless we can prove that act [caused] some other degree of pain or suffering," Pannella said. “Previously those cases went unprosecuted, whereas today we are able to prosecute most of the cases that don’t involve physical harm to animals, but involve conduct that is obviously unacceptable to animals who cannot consent to it.”
Pannella said she could not share many specifics about the incidents that led to the charges Wednesday and noted more charges are possible.
"This investigation is really in its very early stages. Bestiality cases are very difficult to investigate; they take a long time. There are forensics that need to be done; there may be digital forensics that need to be done. There is a lot of investigation that goes into these cases," she said.
In late August, News 5 reported on more than 70 dogs and puppies the owner surrendered to the Ashland County Humane Society. At least 13 more were born after the rescue.
RELATED: Dozens of dogs seized from Ashland County commercial breeder during criminal investigation
"They lived in a kennel, and they were a breeding job. And that was their job — to make puppies and be a mom," Anne Leidigh, an instructor at Heartland Technical Career Center, said at the time.
At that time, the owner was in custody on falsification and obstruction charges, and the Ohio Department of Agriculture confirmed it was in the process of revoking the breeder's license during a pending criminal investigation.
Pannella said she believes the current laws should be harsher.
"Most people, I hope, would be sickened to know it's only a second-degree misdemeanor and this conduct may be going largely unchecked because not all conduct is covered under the current law," Pannella said.
A family member of the defendant, who spoke to News 5 at their property Wednesday, declined an interview. He said off-camera that the family denies all of the allegations.
The Humane Society says it still has about 25 dogs and puppies in its care. The other animals have been adopted or taken by other rescues, shelters and foster homes.
The defendant is being held on a $25,000 bond. His next court appearance is Oct. 13.
