A Mason County grand jury has indicted two people for sex crimes against animals, according to Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron.
Nolene Renee Horn, age 44, of Bracken County and Christopher S. Jones, age 50, of Mason County were indicted Monday on charges of on two counts of sexual crimes against an animal, a Class D Felony, and two counts of torture of a dog, a Class A misdemeanor.
Evidence presented by the Office of Special Prosecutions led to what Cameron said is believed to be Kentucky’s first charge of bestiality since passage of a 2019 law making sexual crimes against an animal a Class D felony.
Warrants have been issued for the arrest of both defendants but by late Monday afternoon there was no record of an arrest.
“This type of heinous and obscene crime cannot go unpunished,” said Cameron. “I am grateful for the Maysville Police Department’s diligent investigation of this case, and our Office of Special Prosecutions is pleased to assist Mason County by prosecuting the case on behalf of the Commonwealth.”
The Maysville Police Department investigated the case, and the Boone County Sheriff’s office provided forensic support. After the investigation, the Attorney General’s Office of Special Prosecutions was appointed to handle the case. Assistant Attorney General Rewa Zakharia will prosecute the case on behalf of the commonwealth.
Senate Bill 67, was unanimously passed by the General Assembly in 2019 and made sexual crimes against an animal a Class D felony. The new law took effect on June 27, 2019.
Both Horn and Jones are scheduled to appear in Mason Circuit Court on June 23 for arraignment on the charges.
