John Coopes Convicted of Sexually Assaulting Neighbor's Animals

March 24, 2009

While perusing news reports today, I came across a very bizarre case out of Mena, Ark., in which a man went to trial today on charges that he sexually assaulted two animals late last year.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office says it received a distressing 911 call on Dec. 13, 2008, from a 13-year-old girl who said that she had just witnessed her neighbor, 26-year-old John R. Coopes, engage in sexual activity with her Anatolian Shepherd. The girl said that the incident occurred in her yard.

Following the alleged assault, Coopes went into a horse pen on the property, where the girl's small Palomino horse was housed.

When deputies arrived on the scene, Coopes was still inside the pen, allegedly attempting to have sexual intercourse with the horse. In his possession they found a bottle of Astroglide water-based lubricant.

Coopes was arrested at the scene and charged with two counts of bestiality, public sexual indecency and trespassing. During his arraignment, prosecutors had to drop the public sexual indecency charge, as Arkansas law has a requirement stating that both participants must be human.

At his arraignment, Coopes was freed on bond. Per the release order, he was instructed to stay away from his neighbor and her animals. The case continued until today, when Coopes appeared in court to enter his plea.

Following today's hearing, I had an opportunity to speak with Sheriff Mike Oglesby, who shared with me his version of the events and the outcome of the case.

Oglesby: "I don't even want to talk about this."

Lohr: "What exactly happened?"

Oglesby: "A juvenile girl looked out her window and seen this guy out there trying to mount a dog. When that didn’t work too well he found him a horse and mounted it."

Lohr: "Did the girl approach him during the incident?"

Oglesby: "Heck no. She seen this crap and it freaked her out, so she called 911. My deputy went out there and caught him and arrested him for bestiality and criminal trespassing. I mean he wasn't even at anybody's house he belonged at, he just found him a dog and a horse and moved right in."

Lohr: "What did he say when the deputies walked in on him?"

Oglesby: "He didn't say much of anything. He was quite embarrassed. He just moved here from somewhere else. I mean we might be rednecks here in Arkansas, but we are not that bad."

Lohr: "What happened in court today?"

Oglesby: "He pled guilty. He told the judge he was embarrassed and swore he would never do it again. He got 15 months probation and a $600 fine. The main thing the judge harped on was getting him psychiatric help."

Lohr: "Anything else you would like to add?"

Oglesby: "Well, I been doing this for over 20 years and this is the damndest interview I ever gave buddy. It ain't really funny, but it is funny."

The case certainly is bizarre.

In an effort to better understand Coopes's bizarre actions, I asked investigative criminal profiler Pat Brown to share her thoughts on why someone would engage in bestiality. Her response:

"Cheap date, won't say she is washing her hair on Friday night, won't say no to sex, won't require cuddling and talking after sex.

"Actually, that's not a joke. Bestiality comes in four forms: one night stands; long-term, loving relationships; thrill-seekers; and violent animal rape and torture.

"Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer indulged in the violent type. He practiced on animals until he was old enough and savvy enough to lure men into his lair. The thrill-seekers are looking for one more way to increase the bizarreness of their sexual experience. These are the types that are heavily involved with bestiality pornography of the type that comes out of Germany (where a good portion of other fetish pornography is made). The third type lives with an animal (usually a dog) and makes that dog his 'buddy.' He gets all the benefits of man's best friend and marriage without having to deal with a woman.

"John Coopes, the Arkansas offender, is 26-years-old, quite past any experimentation stage of a young teen. He is the fourth type, grabbing animals for his sex fix. He is likely terribly socially inept and a failure with women. What is even more concerning than his desire for sex with animals is his complete lack of concealment of his acts. He is impulsive and has little regard for the consequences, indicating a serious psychopathy. I would be most concerned that he might consider children a reasonable target if he finds the opportunity in the future and has improved upon his social skills. I hope that he will not get this training in prison in psychotherapy groups.

"Bestiality is legal in a number of countries and not a crime in quite a few of our states. Apparently, Arkansas is not one of them. It is interesting to note, though, that Coopes may get a longer sentence than many child molesters and serve more time than Dungeon Dad Joseph Fritzl did when he brutally raped a young woman in one of his earlier crimes. Do we actually consider sex with an animal as a more heinous crime than raping women and children? Makes one wonder...."

Arkansas law classifies bestiality as a Class A misdemeanor. As a result, John R. Coopes is not required to register as a sex offender.

Related Links:
Police in England Arrest Man Suspected of Sexually Assaulting Sheep
Police in England Seek Serial Sex Predator Who Preys on Farm Animals

Photo Credits: Police file photo

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Comments

[Unamused]

Got no opinion on this one, except that the interview with the sheriff was one of the funniest things I've read on a true crime blog.

Oglesby: "He didn't say much of anything. He was quite embarrassed. He just moved here from somewhere else. I mean we might be rednecks here in Arkansas, but we are not that bad."

Classic.

[cb]

Actually, lots of jokes are made, but these people are really sick and dangerous.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/21/alaska-and-florida-consid_n_177627.html

Alaska And Florida Consider Bans On Bestiality.....

In Florida, a bill that would make sex with animals punishable by up to five years in prison has been unanimously approved by two Senate committees and has two other committee stops before reaching the full chamber.

"Florida Sen. Nan Rich, a Democrat, has a thick folder in her office containing news clippings of cases around the state of people having sex with animals. While the act is sickening enough, she says research has shown that people who molest animals are likely to rape or molest people."

[Ted]

The funniest part of this whole story is that Arkansas actually has a law that requires both participants to be human to be charged with public sexual indecency!

[Bettttt1]

Another fine animal, he needs to have his testical's removed, oh wait that's right he'd still have his mouth,l.o.l.

[James]

You know how sometimes in life the photo doesn't really match what you'd expect the person to look like.

Yeah, this is not one of those times. His mug, and now his record are certainly not going to help him find his soulmate.

Therapy, lots and lots of therapy.

[pak31]

Wow, I really feel bad for that horse. Obviously someone like this is a very very sick individual. Just trying to picture how someone could even consider attempting this is beyond comprehension for me. He did it out in the open so he wasn't concerned with being seen. I just can't really even find words to express how sick to my stomach I am. It's not that I feel sorry for this guy but he needs some major psychological help. Can someone even be healed from this type of problem?? Strange.

[helenhudson]

Arkansas only recently enacted a law making animal cruelty a felony; punishable by (up to) a $10,000 fine and six years in prison. If animal cruelty occurs in the presence of a child an additional five years can be added to the sentence. So it would seem that what we Arkies need to do is to convince the legislature that bestiality IS cruelty.

So sad that this episode was witnessed by a young girl.

Note: In the past few years making animal cruelty a felony was most vigorously fought by farmers' insurance groups. Thank God we've made it this far.